Beavers, Tigers split wild doubleheader

Ulysses, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–Two longtime foes matched up on Friday night at Ulysses High School, as the Tigers played host to their long time foes in the Scott City Beavers in the lone match up of the season. It would be a split in the games, with each team that was trailing after the third quarter winning. The Lady Beavers used a late rally to win 34-32, while the Tiger boys held the Beavers to two points in the final quarter in a 45-41 win.

Scott City Girls 34, Ulysses 32
While it wasn’t the prettiest of ballgames, it ended up being who was deeper down the stretch. At the end of the game, both teams were without their top two scorers heading into the night. Ulysses would lead 9-6 after the first quarter, as they scored the final five points of the opening frame. In the second frame, Scott City (9-6, 3-0 GWAC) started out on a 6-1 run to lead 12-10 late in the half, and settled for a 15-13 lead. To open the second half, the Lady Tigers would be dominant, as they hit a pair of triples, and outscored the Lady Beavesrs 11-3 in the period to take a 24-18 lead into the fourth quarter. Scott City would go more than five minutes without a field goal. The Lady Beavers would get right back in the game with the first five points of the fourth frame to get to within 24-23 with 5:15 left. When Scott City would pull to within one or two for most of the fourth quarter, Ulysses (3-13, 0-2) would have an answer. In the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, the Lady Tigers would lose their two top scorers coming into the game, as Clarissa Sianuqui and Chloe Curl fouled out. They still maintained a lead of 30-26 with 3:08 remaining. The Lady Beavers were without Megan Trout in the second half, and Erika Felker fouled out with 2:24 left with Ulysses still ahead by three. However, Scott City found a way to force turnovers and get the lead back. They scored seven straight over a minute stretch, and took a 33-30 lead with 2:04 left. Both teams struggled at the foul line in the end, but the Lady Beavers took a 34-32 lead with 15 seconds remaining. Ulysses had three chances to tie, and their three-point attempt was wide left when time expired, as the Lady Beavers escaped with the two-point win.

Scott City was led by Avery Lewis with 11 points. The Lady Beavers went 11-19 from the free throw line and had 20 turnovers. Ulysses got a career-high 13 points from Yoselyn Lerma, as they were just 7-16 at the foul line and had 23 turnovers.

With the win, the Lady Beavers have now won eight straight in the series, the longest since 2001-04, and now hold a 51-37 lead in the series since 1980. Ulysse had back to back wins entering Friday night for the first time since the 2018-19 season. Scott City eclipsed their win total from last season with their ninth win of the season.

Scott City 6 9 3 16–34
Ulysses 9 4 11 8–32

Scott City (9-6, 2-0): Gentry 1 3-4 5; Fox 0 0-0 0; E. Felker 3 1-3 7; Metzber 0 1-2 1; Irvin 0 0-0 0; Lewis 3 4-6 11; Cramer 2 1-2 5; K. Felker 1 0-0 2; Trout 1 1-2 3; Team: 11 11-19 34
Ulysses (3-13, 0-2): Sianuqui 1 0-0 3; Lerma 4 5-8 13; Riley 0 1-2 1; Curl 3 0-0 6; Romero 0 0-0 0; Sifuentes 1 0-0 3; McCormick 0 0-0 0; Alvara 2 1-6 5; Team: 11 7-16 32

Three-Pointers: Scott City 1 (Lewis 1), Ulysses 2 (Sianuqui 1, Sifuentes 1); Turnovers: Scott City 20; Fouls: Scott City 17, Ulysses ; Fouled Out: Scott City (E. Felker), Ulysses (Sianuqui, Curl).

Girls Audio Recap

Amy Felker Postgame

Ulysses Boys 45, Scott City 41
This game would start out with both teams shooting well. The game would go back and forth in the opening stanza, as the Beavers used a 10-1 run over a two-minute stretch to lead 18-13 late in the first quarter, before taking an 18-15 lead into the second quarter. The teams would go back and forth with each side putting up six points in the second period, as the Tigers trailed 24-21 at the break. In the second half, the Beavers would take a six-point lead on three occasions, but could not shake off Ulysses (7-9, 1-1 GWAC). Scott City led 39-33 late in the third quarter, before a Tiger three late in the quarter pulld them to within 39-35. Ulysses was back to within 39-38 on another three early in the final period. Not only could the Beavers extend the lead, but the Tigers couldn’t get the lead for the next four minutes. That wasn’t until the 1:37 mark, when Ulysses would take the lead for good at 40-39. A three-point play would extend their lead to 43-39 with 1:06 left. Scott City (8-7, 1-2) ended their nearly eight-minute scoring drought with 54 seconds left to pull to within 43-41. Two Tiger free throws late would be enough, as Ulysses rallied for the 45-41 win.

Danzel Mendez tied a season-high with 25 points, as he scored all 10 of the Ulysses points in the fourth quarter. The Tigers were 10-16 from the free throw line as they ended up wiht 11 turnovers. Scott City got 17 points from Jackson Rumford and a career-high 15 from Alex Tarango, as both players combined for 16 of the 17 second half points for the Beavers. They finished with 13 turnovers and were 10-17 at the foul line.

It was the first win for Ulysses since 2021 in the series, that snapped a three-game win streak for the Beavers. It was also the first home win against Scott City since 2019. Since 1980, the Beavers lead the series 60-26.

Scott City 18 6 15 2–41
Ulysses 15 6 14 10–45

Scott City (8-7, 1-1): Ruelas 2 0-0 5; Stoecklein 0 1-4 1; Vulgamore 0 0-0 0; Tarango 6 3-4 15; Rumford 6 5-7 17; Bailey 0 0-0; Radke 0 0-0 0; Vance 1 1-2 3; Team: 15 10-17 41
Ulysses (7-9, 1-1): Ysac 1 2-4 1; Alvarado 0 0-0 0; Perez 1 0-0 2; Meraz 0 0-0 0; Morales 0 0-0 0; Walker 0 0-0 0; Graber 2 1-1 5; Mendez 9 6-9 25; Navarette 3 1-2 9; Team: 16 10-16 45

Three-Pointers: Scott City 1 (Ruelas 1), Ulysses 3 (Navarette 2, Mendez 1); Turnovers: Soctt City 13, Ulysses 11; Fouls: Scott City 18, Ulysses 17; Fouled Out: Scott City (Bailey).

Boys Audio Recap