Lady Plainsmen’s season ends at subdistricts

The Perkins County Lady Plainsmen ended their season in the second round of subdistricts after a win over Sutherland and a loss to top seeded South Loup.

Sutherland

Wednesday, Feb. 17, the Lady Plainsmen headed to Callaway for the first game of subdistricts. The game was originally set for Tuesday, however rolling blackouts and poor weather delayed the game by a day.

With just under six minutes on the clock in the first quarter, Sutherland made the first point of the game with a free throw after they were fouled at the basket.

Shortly after, senior Dani Burge was fouled and got two shots at the line. She made one, giving the Lady Plainsmen their first point.

Perkins County went on to put eight more points on the board in the first quarter, giving them a lead over Sutherland 9-4.

In the second, both teams scored 12 points each, making the score at half 21-16.

The Lady Plainsmen continued to score in the double digits for the last two quarters, with 17 in the third and 16 in the fourth.

Perkins County defeated Sutherland 54-39, and they moved on in the tournament to play South Loup, who had just defeated Hi-Line.

“From top to bottom, nearly every area showed improvement from when we lost to them a month ago during the SPVA Tournament,” said coach Deanne Bishop.

She noted the girls were patient within their offensive sets, and they did a great job shutting down the opposing team’s best player, who they limited to only free throws.

Freshman Kailee Potts was the top scorer for Perkins County with 22 points. Potts, Burge and junior Meghan Bishop each had four steals, supporting Bishop’s notes on the team’s defensive abilities throughout the game.

South Loup 

Thursday, the Lady Plainsmen made the trip back to Callaway for the second game of subdistricts to play South Loup.

South Loup sank a tre early on in the first quarter. Perkins County pushed through the full court press and Burge made a two-point field goal, scoring the first points for the Lady Plainsmen.

Perkins County had a lead over South Loup at the end of the first, 10-5.

South Loup’s Bobcats picked up their game, scoring 14 in the second quarter while holding the Lady Plainsmen to just four points, making the score 19-15 at half.

Bishop described the girls’ offense as “cold” in the second half, and noted that while their defense was strong, it wasn’t enough to overcome South Loup.

In the first half, she said, the girls shot around 30% from the field, but in the second, the percentage was much lower, at 20.5%.

“We had all sorts of looks in our sets–baseline looks, short-corners, layups, 3s, ‘bunnies,’ etc.–and we generally took the open looks when we needed to take them, but they didn’t fall,” Bishop added.

The Bobcats scored 22 more points in the second half, and Perkins County scored seven points, making the final score 41-22 with South Loup moving on to districts.

“I was proud of the way the girls kept their chins up and worked hard until the final buzzer,” Bishop said.

Burge was the team’s top scorer with 12 points, and Meghan Bishop and Burge each got nine rebounds.

“It’s always tough to see a season come to an end, especially when the team feels like they are playing some of their best ball of the season,” Bishop said. “I’d like to say a special thank you to our five seniors–Rylee, Dani, Hannah, and student managers Savannah and Kayla–for their years of hard work and leadership.”