Girls Earn Wins Over Lady Buffs
The Lady Indians earned a two-game sweep in Atwood on Friday, January 26. The junior varsity opened the evening with a two-quarter win over Rawlins County 16-13. The varsity completed the evening with a 51-35 win.
In junior varsity action, Rawlins County only led once; 1-2, after a deuce by Kaity Livas (5' 3" Jr.) followed an opening free-throw by Hannah Zimbal. Emma Johnson followed with an out-of-bounds play basket (assist Karly Bandel) and a left-wing trey. After a left-wing bucket by Taryn Sattler (5' 2" Jr.), Johnson added one-of-two from the line making the score 7-4. Kierstyn Domsch (5' 8" Fr.) scored from the post, but Johnson added a fast-break basket and Lindsey Johnson two-free throws to close the quarter. St. Francis led 11-6 after one period of play.
Another post-basket by Domsch opened the second period. After a free-throw by Christina Frink, the margin was reduced to 11-9. With numerous turnovers in the contest, neither team scored again until after a time-out a 3:07. Emma Johnson added a left-wing trey on an assist by Emileigh Dinkel. St. Francis called time-out with 27 seconds left leading 14-9. Alondra Gomez added consecutive free-throws before a left-wing trey by Sattler. A final free-throw by Domsch completed the scoring. St. Francis won the two-quarter junior varsity contest 16-13.
Scoring for St. Francis were Emma Johnson 11, Lindsey Johnson 2, Alondra Gomez 2, and Hannah Zimbal 1. Rawlins County was led by Domsch with 5 points.
Rawlins County never led in the varsity contest. Hanna Bracelin scored the first basket of the contest. Rawlins County's (RC) Angie Singhateh (5' 9" Jr.) answered with a basket on well-executed press offense. Taighe Weeter's right-wing basket offset a driving score by Kristen Beckman (5' 5" So.). An assist by Karly Bandel set up a left-wing jumper by Weeter giving St. Francis the lead for good. A steal and assist by Lindsey Johnson soon led to another Weeter score. The Lady Buffs called time-out at 5:16 and would never truly threaten again. A nice pass by Reagan Beims found Weeter on a backdoor cut moving the score to 10-4. Singhateh answered at the opposite goal from the post. A left-wing trey and an out-of-bounds play basket by Lauren Johnson (assist Bracelin) moved the scoreboard to 15-6. Beckman followed with two free-throws, but a charity toss by Beims, and deep trey on an out-of-bounds play by Bandel closed the first period. St. Francis led 19-8.
Thirty seconds into the second period, St. Francis called time-out. Beckman then added an offensive rebound score (plus one) for RC. Lindsey Johnson swished two free-throws restoring the double-digit lead (21-11), but Singhateh followed with a free-throw. Hanna Bracelin added a jumper from the right-elbow (assist Karly Bandel) before the next time-out; this one called by RC at 4:13. After returning to the floor, RC's Kaity Livas scored from the right-wing. Taighe Weeter answered with a trey from the right-corner (assist Bandel) moving the advantage to 12 points (26-14). Amy Crouse (5' 8" Jr.) added an "old fashioned" three-point play from the post, but the Lady Indians scored the final two baskets of the period; a right-elbow shot by Beims and a steal-two (plus one) by Weeter. St. Francis led 31-17 at halftime.
Amy Crouse opened the third period with a right-wing trey. A steal and assist by Reagan Beims led to another score by Taighe Weeter. Beims then tossed in a trey from the right-wing moving the scoreboard to 36-20. After a basket by Beckman, the Lady Buffaloes called time-out at 2:53 and returned to the floor in a trapping defense. St. Francis added a right-wing basket by Lauren Johnson, and the Lady Buffs countered with an offensive rebound bucket by Singhateh. With 1:16 left in the period, St. Francis called time-out. In the final minute, St. Francis added a free-throw by Hanna Zimbal and a post basket by Bracelin. RC scored on a free-throw by Singhateh and offensive rebound by Crouse. St. Francis led 41-27 after three quarters of play.
The fifteen-point lead the Lady Indians held late in the third period would soon be reduced. RC's Amy Crouse scored from the left-elbow and the right wing reducing the margin to ten (41-31) at 6:55. Kristen Beckman added a free-throw narrowing the advantage to single-digits. It was time for the Lady Indians to respond. Lauren Johnson's assist found Reagan Beims on a cut to the basket. Johnson's next assist led to a basket by Karly Bandel returning the lead to thirteen (45-32). At 4:08, Libby Mosley (5' 4" So.) drained a left-corner trey, and RC called time-out. The Lady Buffs would not score again. In the final four minutes of the game, St. Francis would add free-throws by Beims,Taighe Weeter, Bandel, and Emileigh Dinkel as well as a left-wing jumper by Bandel. St. Francis defeated Rawlins County 51-35.
The Lady Indians were led in scoring by Taighe Weeter with 17 points. Reagan Beims added 9, Karly Bandel 8, and Lauren Johnson 7. Others scoring for the Lady Indians included Hanna Bracelin 6, Lindsey Johnson 2, Hannah Zimbal 1 and Emileigh Dinkel 1. The Lady Indians protected the ball well having only 5 turnovers in the first half and 8 in the second. St. Francis made 9 of 17 from the line and committed 14 fouls.
Rawlins County was led by Amy Crouse with 12 points. Kristen Beckman added 10 and Angie Singhateh 8. The Lady Buffs shot only 28% from the field (13 of 46), committed 15 fouls and 22 turnovers, and made 7 of 14 from the line.
The Lady Indians will play Christian Family Educators on Tuesday, January 30, in St. Francis.
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