Holcomb Girls, Scott City Boys Take Big Wins
Holcomb, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–Tuesday night at Holcomb, three state-ranked teams took the court at Holcomb High School, and it was a split in the doubleheader. The Lady Longhorns, ranked second in Class 3A flexed their muscles early and cruised to a 62-31 victory over the Lady Beavers, while the No. 1 team in Class 3A on the boys side, Scott City, rolled the No. 4 team in 3A, Holcomb, 59-37.
The first game of the night saw a tight game early on, as the Lady Longhrons led 4-3 a couple minutes in. Scott City had a couple chances to take the lead, but that closed thanks to a slew of turnovers forced by Holcomb. They would go on a 21-0 run in about an eight-minute stretch of the first half, to build their lead to 25-3. The Lady Beavers got their offense going midway through the second period, but the Lady Longhorns would prevent Scott City from back-to-back baskets in the first half, and took a 45-13 lead into intermission. In the second half, the Lady Beavers were able to put together a string of baskets, but had too much of a hill to climb, trailing 60-27 after three quarters. With a running clock in the final eight minutes of play, both teams scoring was small, and Holcomb got the victory 62-31. Scott City played better in the second half, outscoring the Lady Longhorns 18-17. Holcomb (8-0, 3-0 GWAC) had four players in double figures, led by Karissa Pena and Kylee Amos with 14 points. Scott City (1-5, 1-2 GWAC) was led by Janessa Lowenthal’s 10 points, all in the third quarter.
Two of the top four teams in Class 3A would take the court in the second game of the doubleheader. Scott City would take out the drama early on, scoring the game’s first 14 points in four minutes. Holcomb would battle back and make it 19-9 Beavers after one quarter. After Scott City started the second eight minutes on a 10-1 run to make it 29-10, the Longhorns would close the gap to 32-20 with two minutes remaining before half. That’s the closest Holcomb got the rest of the way. Between the 1:45 mark of the second period to the 52-second mark of the third quarter, Scott City scored 20 consecutive points, despite a sluggish start to the second half. The Beaver defense was solid again, allowing only two Longhorn points in the third quarter, and took a 54-22 lead going into the fourth quarter. With a running clock due to the GWAC 30-point rule, Scott City built their lead up to 34 points, but a 15-3 run by Holcomb made it closer at 59-37. The Beavers have now won 25 consecutive league games, including the last two games in the MSAA in 2010. Scott City (6-0, 3-0 GWAC) finished the game with three double figure scorers, led by Trey O’Neil with 16 points, while Brett O’Neil and Drew Kite added 13. Holcomb (6-2, 2-0) was led by Tyler LaSalle and Blake Richmeier with nine points apiece.
Scott City returns home on Friday to take on Colby, while Holcomb visits Ulysses.
