Scott City girls hold off Colby

Colby, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–It’s always tough to beat a team three times in a season. Scott City took down an upset-minded Goodland team for the third time this year on Tuesday, and faced another GWAC foe in Colby Friday night for the final sub-state championship birth at the Colby Community Building. Unlike the first two meetings, the Lady Beavers never trailed, and knocked off the Lady Eagles 37-28 in a defensive battle in front of a near-capacity crowd.

Scott City won it early and often with their defense, holding Colby without a field goal for the first 9:11 of the game. The Lady Beavers used a 9-0 run over a five-minute stretch of the first quarter to build up a 12-2 lead with 1:37 left in the first quarter, and eventually led 12-4 heading into the second quarter. After Scott City led 17-6 with 6:18 left in the half, the Lady Eagles went on their biggest run of the game with an 8-0 run over a five-minute stretch to pull to within 17-14 with 1:14 left before the halftime break. The Lady Beavers closed out the half with four straight to take a 21-14 halftime lead.

To begin the second half, Scott City (18-4) opened up with four straight to lead 25-14 with 4:51 remaining in the third period. They would not score for the next 5:07 in the game. Colby (11-11) was able to score the final six points of the third quarter to get to within 25-20 going into the fourth quarter. The Lady Eagles would drain a three quarter to pull to within 27-23 with 7:07 left. That was the closest they got the rest of the way. Scott City scored the next seven points over a five-minute span, and took a 34-23 lead with 1:04 left. The Lady Beavers were able to go 6-10 in the final quarter at the foul line, and they were able to advance to Saturday’s sub-state final with a 37-28 win.

Emily Weathers led Scott City with 11 points, including the first eight points of the second half for the Lady Beavers, while Emily Smith added nine. Scott City was 9-16 at the free throw line and finished with 13 turnovers. Colby was led by Hallie Vaughn with nine points, while Jill Stephens added eight. The Lady Eagles went 11-14 from the foul line and finished with 17 turnovers. Scott City won the rebounding battle 26-17.

With the win, it was the second straight year Scott City has defeated Colby three times in a season, continued their longest win streak in the series to seven straight, and also it was the second straight time they won over the Lady Eagles in the postseason after Colby won the first 10 times. Scott City advances to their second consecutive sub-state championship appearance, which is the first time they’ve accomplished that feat. The Lady Beavers have not won 18 games in a season since the 1994-95 season.

Coach Sarah McCormick Postgame

Scott City will face the Norton Lady Bluejays Saturday evening at 6 at the Colby Community Building. Norton improved to 13-9 and never trailed en route to their 47-23 win over the Cimarron Lady Bluejays in the first game on Friday. Cimarron ends their season at 13-9.