Girls Play Well Against Undefeated Hoxie
On Friday, January 19, the Lady Indians played aggressively against the #2-ranked and undefeated Hoxie Lady Indians in the championship semi-final contest of the Northwest Kansas League Basketball Tournament. The game was marred by numerous turnovers by both teams, partially due to the aggressive defense played by both teams; but a stretch of Lady Indian miscues late in the second period decided the contest. St. Francis lost to Hoxie 43-56.
Rebecca Castle (5' 10" Sr.) scored the first basket of the contest in the lane for Hoxie. Neither team scored again for nearly 4 minutes as the teams traded turnovers and rebounds. At 4:40, Lauren Johnson swished a right-wing trey giving St. Francis their first lead of the contest. The lead was short-lived as Castle scored from the high post moments later. Reagan Beims followed with a basket from the high-post after an offensive rebound and assist by Lindsey Johnson. Hoxie called time-out at 2:41 trailing 5-4. At 2:05, Beims added a stick-back basket increasing the lead to 7-4. A lane basket by Castle, her 3rd of the period, and a trey by Addie Campbell (5' 4" So.) after an offensive rebound gave Hoxie a 7-9 lead at the end of one quarter of play.
A post basket by Hanna Bracelin opened the second period. Castle followed with consecutive free-throws for Hoxie. St. Francis called time-out and went to a trapping press after returning to the floor. At. 6:00, Macalee White (5' 5" Jr.) drained a right-corner trey for Hoxie. Emma Johnson added back-to-back free-throws, and Karly Bandel added a floater in the lane. The Lady Indians still trailed 13-14. Addie Campbell answered with a deep trey from the right wing. At 3:44, Hoxie used a time-out. An out-of-bounds play shot form the left-elbow by Reagan Beims was followed by a steal-two by Taighe Weeter. The play tied the contest at 17-all with 2:50 to play in the first half. Unfortunately, Hoxie would be the only team to score again in the half. Hoxie scored 12 unanswered points to close the quarter; most coming after Lady Indian turnovers. Campbell added two more treys in the barrage; one coming as a bank-shot in the final seconds of the half. St. Francis trailed 17-29 at halftime.
The Lady Indians would play Hoxie essentially even in the second half, but the deficit created in the final 2 1/2 minutes of the first half would determine the contest winner. Lauren Johnson opened the half with a left-elbow deuce. After two free-throws by Campbell and basket in the lane by Macy Schamberger (5' 7" So.), Taighe Weeter sank two free-throws at 4:33 after being fouled on a break. Consecutive baskets by Lilly Schamberger (5' 9" Sr.), the 2nd coming after a St. Francis turnover, extended the margin to 21-37. At 3:27, Hoxie called time-out. After a score by Jylian Laten for St. Francis, Hoxie added a basket by Campbell and a left-corner trey by Lilly Schamberger. Another SF turnover led to two more Hoxie points late in the period extending the deficit to 21 points (23-44). Lauren Johnson's right-wing trey trimmed the margin to 26-44 at the third quarter break.
Reagan Beims scored the first three points of the final period on a free-throw and a give-and-go assist from Lauren Johnson. At 6:00, Hoxie called time-out leading 29-44. Taighe Weeter added a basket on press-offense on another Johnson assist (31-44). A St. Francis turnover led to a transition basket by Lilly Schamberger (assist M. Schamberger) at 4:57. Karly Bandel added two free-throws after being fouled executing press offense. Macy Schamberger's deuce was followed by a St. Francis time-out at 3:38. The teams would alternate scoring for the remainder of the contest. Weeter's driving score was followed by two free-throws by Lilly Schamberger. Beims' out-of-bounds play basket was answered by a right-wing trey by Macy Schamberger. Lauren Johnson's left-corner trey preceded two free-throws by Rebecca Castle. Hanna Bracelin's trey finalized the scoring. St. Francis had played aggressively throughout, but had made several back-to-back errors in the final minutes of the first half allowing Hoxie to remain undefeated. St. Francis lost the contest 43-56.
Reagan Beims led the Lady Indians with 11 points. Three players scored 8 points: Taighe Weeter, Lauren Johnson, and Hanna Bracelin. Others contributing to the Lady Indians' point total were Karly Bandel 4, Emma Johnson 2, and Jylian Laten 2. The Lady Indians made 7 of 10 from the line, committed 26 turnovers, and were called for 13 fouls.
Hoxie was led by Addie Campbell and Lilly Schamberger; each with 16 points. Rebecca Castle added 10 and Macy Schamberger 9. Hoxie also made 7 of 10 from the stripe. Hoxie was whistled for 11 fouls.
The Lady Indians will play Dighton in the third place game of the NWKL Tournament on Saturday, January 20.
Click the photos to see more photos!
