The regular season of the winter campaign is rapidly coming to a close and the performances just keep getting more impressive. The focus of this week’s update is those outstanding outings.
Last Saturday gave us a match-up of #1 vs #2 in Class 1A girls, as Briggsdale hosted Fleming. The top-ranked Falcons stamped themselves as favorites for the state title with a 58-36 win, that also gave them the North Central League title. The loss was the first for Fleming, who closes out the regular season with games against Flatirons Academy and Sedgwick County.
Granada got its first win over Springfield in the MaxPreps era, downing the Longhorns 53-48 last Thursday. Springfield had won 19 straight dating back to 2007. Vanessa Ayala had 16 points for Granada, while Kendall Myers led Springfield with a season-high 21.
Idalia’s Camren Morris established a new career-high with 29 points against Arickaree/Woodlin on Friday. The senior hit six three-pointers and scored 14 straight points in a game-changing 16-0 second quarter run. Her teammate, Tara Hubbard, blocked eight shots in the 64-33 win.
Speaking of career highs, Caliche’s talented sophomore, Karsyn Huss, went for 32 points in her team’s 62-58 overtime win over Leyton (NE). Huss hit 18 of 21 shots from the foul line, had 11 rebounds, four steals, four assists, and a blocked shot in the win.
Lone Star won its third straight YWKC title last Thursday, as Alivia Weathers scored 28 points in a 61-38 win over Arickaree/Woodlin. The Longhorns will likely be the top seed in the District 5 tournament.
In Class 2A, Rye ran its Santa Fe League winning streak to 37 straight with a 69-24 victory over Crowley County last Saturday. After a 1-10 mark in the league in 2017-18, the Thunderbolts are 41-1 in the last four seasons against league opposition.
Holyoke took a major step towards a potential LPAA title, as the Dragons avenged its lone loss of the season (51-49) when they beat Sedgwick County 44-35 last Friday. Kristin Vieselmeyer went for 27 points and 11 rebounds in the win. Holyoke is tied with Merino atop that league. Those two meet on Saturday. Holyoke has Yuma first, with the Indians coming off consecutive overtime losses to Wiggins and Peyton.
Unlike Yuma, Sterling won a pair of OT games last week. The 3A Tigers had lost eight straight heading into last week’s game against Brush. Brush held a 34-22 lead going into the fourth quarter, but Sterling rallied to send the game to OT with a 14-2 frame. The Tigers won 43-40. The next day, it was the Tigers who gave up a fourth quarter lead at Faith Christian, but they got the win in the second overtime, 35-31. Jalyssa Maker had a double-double in each contest.
Lamar won a pair of lopsided games last week, outscoring Banning Lewis and Florence by a combined tally of 125-26. The Savages have won three straight heading into this week.
In 1A boys, top-ranked Granada’s Brandon Gonzales hit nine of 11 three-point shots in his team’s 73-34 win over Springfield last Thursday. That’s a new school record, breaking the previous mark of eight that has been done three times, including once by teammate Dominic Coleman two seasons ago. Gonzales finished the night with 31 points.
Briggsdale improved to 13-0 on the year with its win over Fleming on Saturday. It wasn’t easy, as the Falcons could not gain much separation throughout, and Fleming had three shots in the final 10 seconds to hit the potential game-winner, but Briggsdale held on for a 49-48 win. One night earlier, John Krise hit seven three-pointers and tallied 27 points in a 78-43 win over Otis.
Yuma remains the favorite in 2A, as the Indians bring an eight-game winning streak into this week. After doing it twice last week, the Indians have scored at least 70 points in 11 of their 14 games so far.
After struggling through a 29-27 win at Simla on Wednesday, Limon picked up quality wins over Wray (55-31) and Merino (58-43). The Union Pacific will be decided by the Badgers and Byers, who ran its winning streak to six with a 49-41 victory at Burlington on Saturday.
The final few weeks of the regular season should be a fun one in the Santa Fe, as Fowler leads the race, with Holly right on its heels. Fowler has won six straight games, while Holly has put five straight in the win column.
Sterling kept its winning streak alive by beating Brush and Faith Christian last week. The Tigers, 13-1 overall, have won 11 straight. Sterling was #1 in 3A last week, and is one of the favorites in the rugged Patriot League.
Stratton hosted its annual wrestling tournament on Saturday and Limon stood tall atop the team standings. The Badgers got individual titles from Ky Bandy (152), Gabe Schubarth (182), and Ahren Schubarth (195). Sedgwick County/Fleming finished second in the team standings, with Scotty Engle (113) and Hayden Burr (160) taking individual titles.
Holly got wins from Tripp Duvall (106), Gabe Neugebauer (120), and Daunte Maldonado (132), while County Line saw Keenan Smith (145), Taite Weeks-Johnson (220), and Chase Stolzenberger (285). Weeks-Johnson posted a 9-0 record during the past week.
Fowler’s Traven Sharon won the title at 106 pounds at the Valley Classic, while Eddie Bowman of Trinidad took the championship at 138. Crowley County was the top local finisher in the event at Center, as the Chargers finished sixth overall.
Most of the area girls programs spent the weekend at the Chatfield War Horse Invitational, with Yuma finishing fifth overall. Meanwhile, Lamar was taking fifth in the Bushland (TX) event.
