Lady Plainsmen go 7-11
By Emmalee Parsley Stevens
Grant Tribune Correspondent
Lady Plainsmen made their record 6-9 two weeks ago week with two wins and one loss. They started with Chase County Longhorns on January 21st. Then Lady Plainsmen went into a weekend of wins on January 24th and 25th playing Kimball Longhorns and Hershey Panthers.
The Lady Plainsmen brought home one win and one loss this week. First they played Holyoke Dragons where they won with a score of 45-25. They then played the Sedgwick County Cougars that ended in a loss of 63-18.
CHASE COUNTY
Lady Plainsmen had a rocky start in the game, only scoring four points while Chase County Longhorns scored fifteen. However, in the second quarter things took a turn. Plainsmen scored seventeen points. They went into the start of the third quarter with a score of 21-35, with Longhorns in the lead. Both teams scored nine points each. Finally, Lady Plainsmen scored twelve points, where the Longhorns scored six. Unfortunately their comeback was not enough to leave with a win. The final score was 50-42.
“It’s tough to play a team multiple times -- let alone twice in five days. The first time we lost 27-63. With only one practice between that game and the 1st Rd. of SPVA, we changed a couple rotations within our defense and added in a new man-to-man motion offense. The second time we saw them was a much-improved effort (42-50). Those changes made a big difference. Credit to our bench personnel for their key contributions with points, rebounds and defense. Still, we gave up too many offensive rebounds to CC, and that ended up being the deciding factor in the game,” said Head coach Deanne Bishop
KIMBALL
Lady Plainsmen took the lead immediately in the first quarter with a score of 18-11. They then remained in the lead in the second quarter, scoring eight points. After halftime they scored eleven points in both the third and fourth quarters each. The final score was 48-37. Sophomore Maddison Potts scored sixteen points followed by Sophomore Ella Homan who scored fifteen.
“The girls keyed in on rebounding (a focus-item after Tuesday’s game with CC). We were +7 on rebounds and attacked the rim finishing with 30 points in the paint. In addition, 12 of those points were second-chance baskets from offensive rebounds,” said Coach Bishop.
HERSHEY
After their win the night before, Lady Plainsmen hit the court ready to play the next day. Lady Plainsmen started the game with a thirteen point tie in quarter one. However, they took the lead in the second quarter scoring nine points. They played to keep their lead throughout the third quarter. Lady Plainsmen scored eleven points, when the opposing Panthers scored eight. In the fourth quarter, Panthers scored nine points, one more than Plainsmen. However, it was not enough for the Panthers to beat the Plainsmen. The final score was 41-34 with Lady Plainsmen achieving the win.
“We saw this time to open our season and lost a disappointing 44-77. Fast-foward seven weeks, and we felt like a much-improved team. With a different defensive approach and a healthy lineup, we were able to put together a gritty performance. Our conditioning and “sense of urgency” out-hustled Hershey 16 to 8 in terms of transition points -- which was a big credit to the efforts of Madison Potts, Ella Homan, Hannah Bishop, Tessa Uehline and Haylea McGreer. The combo of Libby Cole, Addison York, Lauren Bishop and Jacqueline Gloy hauled in a combined 33 rebounds. It was good to see the girls put together four solid quarters. Finishing 3rd at SPVA was a great confidence-booster for our young squad,” said Coach Bishop.
HOLYOKE
The Lady Plainsmen traveled to Holyoke Colorado on January 28th to face the Holyoke Dragons. In the first half of the game, Plainsmen and Dragons were tied. In the first quarter, both teams scored six points each. In the second quarter, both teams scored five points each resulting in the score to be 11-11. Then Plainsmen took a strong lead in quarter three, where they scored twenty four points. Lastly, to win the game, Plainsmen scored ten points in the last quarter to win the game. The final score was 45-25 Sophomores Maddison Potts and Ella Homan led the team, scoring fourteen points each. Senior Libby Cole held strength in the rebound area, getting seven rebounds.
“We looked a bit sluggish to start the game, and points were at a premium in the first half. Credit the girls for keeping their composure and ramping up their defense to jump-start things in the second half. In the 3rd qtr. we outscored Holyoke 24-7. Holyoke has a tall lineup. Our girls did a good job contesting shots and securing rebounds,” said Head Coach Deanne Bishop.
SEDGWICK
The Lady Plainsmen then played Sedgwick Cougars on January 30th at Perkins County High School. Lady Plainsmen fell behind in quarter one. They only scored two points due to the Cougars strong defense. In the second and third quarters Lady Plainsmen scored seven points each. Lastly in the fourth quarter, Lady Plainsmen scored two points. The final score of the game was 63-18.
“Sedgwick Co. is a well-coached team with some outstanding athletes. They did a good job of moving the ball to find the open shooter and then hit those shots. Although we had a number of good looks within our offensive sets throughout the game, we had a tough time converting on those opportunities,” says Coach Bishop.
Next Action
The Lady Plainsmen competed at home against Maxwell Tuesday, Feb. 4 and fell 51-36 taking their record to 7-11.
Next they will compete on February 6 against the 17-1 Southwest Roughriders, followed by an away game at Bayard, who sit at a 10-8 record this season. On February 14 tge Sandhills Valley team will come to play the Plainsmen. The Maverick girls are 0-13.