Lady Plainsmen earn second in holiday tournament

Victory was sweet for first-year head coach Katie Geitz and her Lady Plainsmen after hosting Wallace in the Perkins County Booster Club Holiday Tournament. 

Geitz said they were looking for a win and that’s just what they got in the first round of action.

The girls went on to take second after a loss in the final round against Sandhills-Thedford.

WALLACE

The 2-3 Lady Wildcats were the first battle for the Lady Plainsmen in the tournament and the competition was heavy from the beginning. 

Freshman Hallie Fisher kicked off the game with a steal that ended up in the bucket at the hands of freshman Meghan Bishop. Wallace had the answer, and it was Dani Burge at the net for the Plainsmen next. Wallace again had the answer tying the game 4-4.

Free throws from Rylee Huff and Kiara Schulze gave PC the lead once more but a three-pointer from Wallace with a little over a minute left in the first put the Wildcats ahead by one, 7-6.

The second quarter saw the Lady Plainsmen defense hold the Lady Wildcats to just three points. The Wildcats fouled PC enough times to see six points go up from the Plainsmen free-throw line. Huff hit the net once more before halftime to give the Lady Plainsmen a 14-10 lead.

Despite making two baskets and holding Wallace to zero points until just under three minutes left in the quarter, the Lady Plainsmen allowed an eight-point run that tied the game 18-18 with 1:23 left in the third.

Freshman Samantha Patrick hit the net for two and at the buzzer nailed a three-pointer that gave PC a five-point lead going into the fourth. 

The Lady Cats hit six points including a trey tying the game again 23-23. 

Huff found the net twice and Schulze added a basket as well taking PC to 29. 

Wallace fired off one more triple pointer but it wasn’t enough and after two more shots from the PC free-throw line, the Lady Plainsmen took their first win of the season and beat Wallace 31-26.

“The girls were so excited to record their first win. There was a sense of accomplishment, joy and just straight adrenaline running in the locker room after the game. We are very proud of the work our girls put in, and the significant progress they showed against Wallace. We exhibited great growth in our composure while hitting some important shots, and making some great last-minute decisions to learn how to win,” Geitz said.

Wallace did go on to play Creek Valley and beat them out for third place taking their record to 4-4.

SANDHILLS THEDFORD

Sandhills Thedford took  Creek Valley 51-19 for the chance at first place in the PC Holiday Tournament, and after their win over Wallace, the Lady Plainsmen were ready to play. 

The Lady Knights did get the upper hand over PC early on in the game and took their lead to 13-4 in the first. 

Three of the four PC points being a triple from Schulze, the extra was a free throw from Patrick. 

Despite being down, the Plainsmen defense held Sandhills-Thedford to just two points in the second, while Burge added one point. 

The PC offense struggled to get the ball to fall and at halftime trailed by 10, 15-5.

The third quarter saw the Lady Plainsmen defense once again hold the Lady Knights but the offense continued to struggle and a free throw from Fisher was the only score for PC. 

The Lady Knights got their second wind in the fourth and put up 17 while holding the Lady Plainsmen to just three, all of which were by the hands of Fisher. 

The 37-9 loss put the Perkins County girls in second place in the holiday tournament. 

“We are very excited to see what the future holds for our Lady Plainsmen,” Coach Geitz said. 

NEXT ACTION

PC will travel to North Platte to take on the St. Pat’s on Friday, Jan. 4 at 5 p.m. MT.