Wildcats Win All Four
The Indian teams lost all four contests in Sharon Springs on Tuesday evening, February 7th. It was a long night for the St. Francis basketball teams. The team left at 2:15 PM and arrived home at 11:30 PM after playing four games in one gymnasium. The varsity girls lost 46-60 to the Lady Wildcats. The varsity boys fell 67-88. The junior varsity girls lost 10-27 and the JV boys lost by twenty points (34-54).
The evening began with the junior varsity girls playing two quarters only due to limited player numbers. Both teams had eleven available players. The Lady Indians scored first on a basket by Aly Schlepp and held the lead until a Wallace County trey gave the Lady Wildcats the advantage at 3:45 (6-7). The Lady Indians did not score again in the first period and trailed 6-12 when the horn sounded.
In the second period, the Lady Indians committed numerous turnovers resulting in easy baskets for Wallace County and limited shot attempts for the Lady Indians. St. Francis quickly fell behind 10-19 and lost the shortened contest 10-27.
The junior varsity boys game would have been a completely different contest IF the Indians could have made their layups. The Indians missed numerous shots from point blank range throughout the contest. The boys trailed 7-11 after one quarter of play and 7-18 with more than five minutes left in the first half. A nice outlet pass by Jacob Baxter to Wyatt Landenberger led to an Indian basket that cut the lead to 15-20 with 1:48 left. The Indians trailed by seven (15-22) at halftime.
The Indians committed several turnovers against the pressing defense of the Wildcats in the second half. The Indians worked for many good looks at the basket, but had trouble getting the shots to fall. The Indians fell behind 25-41 after three periods and were down by twenty with five plus minutes left in the contest. The Indians lost the JV boys game 34-54.
In the varsity girls contest, the Lady Indians jumped out to a quick 11-0 lead by executing well against the press and getting good shots on offense. With 2:51 left in the first, the Lady Wildcats had cut the lead to three (11-8). The Lady Indians led after one period 15-12.
The Lady Wildcats tied the contest at 15-all with 6:20 left in the second period. The Lady Cats took the advantage (18-19) with 3:40 left in the first half. The Lady Indians trailed by one (24-25) at halftime.
The Lady Indians would never lead again. By 5:57 in the third, the Lady Indians had fallen behind 24-32. With 4:16 left, the score had advanced to 24-36. The Lady Indians finally scored, a basket by Aly Schlepp, with just over three minutes left in the period. Fueled by miscues by the Lady Indians, the Lady Cats had gone on an 11-0 run. The third period ended with the Lady Indians in trouble, 26-36.
The Lady Cats stretched the lead to 28-39, before the Lady Indians mounted a run of their own. St. Francis pulled within five points (41-46) with 2:38 left on a steal and basket by Aly Schlepp. A nice pass from Clarice Neitzel to Kaitlin Figgins moved the score to 43-48, but two easy transition baskets by the Lady Cats increased the deficit to 43-52 with 1:39 left. The Lady Indians were defeated by a good Lady WIldcat team, 46-60.
Kaitlin Figgins led the Lady Indian scoring with 16 points. Clarice Neitzel added 9 and Aly Schlepp 8. Laura Brunk and Kyla Bandel each chipped in six. The Lady Indians were 7 of 9 from the free throw line.
Hayley Pletcher (20) and Tatum Elder (19) led the Lady Wildcats scoring. Rachael Kuhlman and Hallie Kuhlman each scored nine. The Lady Cats hit 13 of 19 from the stripe.
The varsity boys game was a fast-paced affair with both teams running the floor briskly. Wallace County jumped out to a ten-point lead (7-17) by 4:42, but Dylan Peter trimmed the lead to 13-17 on a stickback basket with 3:30 left in the first period. The game resembled a track meet, with athletes sprinting from end to end. The Wildcats earned a 17-26 lead with 2:02 left and led 17-30 after one period of play.
The deficit increased to 23-38 by the 5:05 mark of the second quarter, but the Indians began to find the basket with more regularity and trimmed the margin to 32-40 with 2:30 left in the half. A trey by Mason Schiltz, his third of the period, moved the score to 35-40 at the 2:10 mark. A Wyatt Landenberger trey and two free throws by Kyler Zweygardt cut the lead to 4 points (40-44), but the Indians could get no closer. The Wildcats led at halftime, 40-49.
An Isaac Schiltz trey with 3:16 left in the third made the score 49-55. The Indians still trailed after three periods 60-67.
Cade Bracelin scored on a post move to get the Indians within four (63-67) early in the final period. Cade and Wyatt Landenberger drew consecutive charges against the Wildcats, but the Indians failed to score when they received the ball on either possession. The game looked like it could go "down to the wire."
However, the Wildcats connected on consecutive treys on their next two possessions. The Indians fouled the three-point shooter on the second attempt. The score jumped to 64-76 by the 5:04 mark. The Indians would not recover. With 3:55 left, the Indians were down 65-80. The Indians only scored one basket in the final period and lost to an aggressive, hot-shooting Wildcat team 67-88.
The Indians had three players in double figures: Isaac Schiltz (20), Mason Schiltz (16), and Dylan Peter (15). The Indians were 12 of 18 from the line.
Wallace County had four players score in double digits: Cayden Daily (26), Eli Kuhlman (23), Clay Schemm (15), and Gavin Mote (12) -- all underclassmen. The Wildcats were 7 of 10 from the stripe.
The Indians will play Cheylin in St. Francis on February 14th.
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