Lady Plainsmen take first in holiday tournament

The Lady Plainsmen had an exciting week of games, starting last Thursday when they took victory over Garden County and ending with first place in the Perkins County Holiday Tournament Tuesday, Dec. 22.

Garden County

Thursday, Dec. 17 the Lady Plainsmen hosted a home game against Garden County’s Eagles.

Junior Meghan Bishop scored the first points of the game when she sank a tre just over a minute and a half into the game.

The Lady Plainsmen earned five more points in the first quarter, holding the Eagles to six points. They ended the first quarter 8-6, with Perkins County ahead.

The girls carried their lead into the second quarter, where they scored 15 points to Garden County’s four, making the game 23-10 at half.

Perkins County picked up another eight points in the third quarter, again holding the Eagles to just four points. They entered the final quarter of the game 31-14, with the Lady Plainsmen still ahead.

In the final quarter, the Lady Plainsmen scored a whopping 16 points, while Garden County scored eight.

Perkins County added another win to their record, defeating Garden County 47-22.

“This was a quality win for our girls,” said Coach Deanne Bishop. “We played solid defense and held their top three scorers to a combined two points.”

“Compared to last year’s 17-point loss to Garden County, this year was a 42-point swing in our favor. Our pressure led to 19 steals, and we were able to capitalize on those by scoring 29 points, 14 of which were in transition,” she continued.

Bishop said it was encouraging to see so many girls score points, adding that it shows a combination of the girls being offensive-minded and playing cooperatively, rather than selfishly.

Freshman Katie Cook was the top scorer of the game, for both teams, with 10 points. Freshman Kailee Potts was just behind Cook with nine points.

DCS

The Lady Plainsmen had an away game in Benkelman against Dundy County-Stratton’s Tigers on Saturday, Dec. 19.

Perkins County scored the first points of the game when senior Dani Burge made a two-point shot from the block. Senior Maggie Lutz, top scorer of the game from DCS, made a basket shortly after that.

The girls went on to score five more points, while DCS earned 16 points in the first quarter.

The Tigers held on to their lead in the second quarter, where they scored 12 points to Perkins County’s seven. The score was 28-14 at half with DCS ahead.

The Lady Plainsmen picked up just five points in the third quarter, courtesy of a tre from Bishop and a two-point field goal from Burge. DCS picked up 12 more points, making the game 40-19 headed into the final quarter.

Perkins County picked up their scoring in the fourth quarter, bringing in 14 points for the Lady Plainsmen. DCS also scored 14 points, finishing the game 54-33, with the Tigers winning.

Coach Bishop said the Lady Plainsmen tried to key in on Dundy County-Stratton’s Baney, who averages 20 points per game, and force some of their other players to step up. In this case, they did.

“Although we held Baney to 14 points and held their team to only 12 points near the basket, the rest of the DCS players did a good job of moving the ball and they shot extremely well from long-range,” Bishop said.

“That said, I was proud that our girls worked hard the entire game. We had a lower number of turnovers than in previous games and were nearly even with DCS on rebounds and steals,” she added.

Burge nabbed an impressive 11 rebounds throughout the game.

According to Bishop, the game came down to field goal percentage.

Potts was the top scorer against DCS with 12 points, three of which were three-pointers.

The Lady Plainsmen’s record headed into the holiday tournament was 2-3.

PCS Holiday Tournament

The Lady Plainsmen competed in the Perkins County Holiday Basketball Tournament Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 21 and 22.

Before the tournament, Coach Bishop said the team was excited for the tournament and looked forward to the opportunity to compete again before winter break. 

“In a season like 2020 where nothing is a ‘given,’ we’re grateful for the opportunity to play ball,” she said.

Their first game was against Hyannis Monday afternoon.

The Lady Plainsmen started their game against Hyannis strong, with senior Rylee Huff sinking a basket within the first minute of the game, followed by another successful shot from Bishop about 30 seconds later.

They continued that energy through the first quarter, scoring a whopping 23 points, while Hyannis made just one basket for two points early on in the quarter.

Perkins County continued to play strong, scoring 12 points in the second quarter and holding Hyannis to just three. At half the game was 35-5.

Hyannis was unable to score in the third quarter, while Perkins County’s girls picked up another 11 points, making the score 46-5 entering the final quarter.

The game slowed down a bit for the Lady Plainsmen in terms of scoring, as they made just two baskets in the final quarter: one free throw from Bishop, and a two-point field goal from junior Autumn Anderson.

Hyannis also scored three points in the fourth, ending the game 49-8.

In the final game of the tournament, Perkins County defeated Wallace with a final score of 55-34.

Due to deadlines, watch for coverage of the final game in a future issue.