Scott City bounces back with two wins at Ulysses

Ulysses, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–Scott City and Ulysses were looking to bounce back after some tough losses on Friday night. For the Beavers, both the boys and girls were trying to erase a tough night, while the Tigers teams were attempting to pick up their first wins since the Christmas break. Both games in the end would belong to Scott City, as the Lady Beavers never trailed in a 46-18 victory, while the Beaver boys pulled away late for a 67-56 road win.

Scott City Girls 46, Ulysses 18
Scott City would never trail in this one, taking an 11-0 lead after the first quarter and 13-0 early in the second period, before Ulysses would put a point on the board with 7:22 left in the first half. The Lady Beavers would not allow a field goal by an opponent for the first 9:09 of the game, and in fact, saw an opponent not hit a field goal for nearly 16 minutes, dating back to the fourth quarter of the Colby game. Over the final half of the second frame, Scott City (7-1, 2-2 GWAC) used a 7-2 run to lead 24-7 at the break. The first half saw sloppy play by both teams, and that would carry into the second half. Despite the tough shooting night, the Lady Beavers would outscore the Lady Tigers 11-4 in the third frame to lead 35-11 heading into the fourth quarter. After Scott City built their 26-point lead with 5:56 left, Ulysses (1-7, 0-3) would put together their lone run of the night with four straight points. The Lady Beavers scored the final six points with their reserves in the game, en route to the 46-18 win.

Emily Weathers led the way for Scott City with a game-high 13 points, while Lyndi Rumford added 11. The Lady Beavers struggled at the line, going just 9-20. Unofficially, Ulysses would win the rebounding battle 40-33, as they dropped their fifth straight game. Hayden Riley led the Lady Tigers with nine points, as they finished with 25 turnovers. They ended up going 4-10 from the foul line. 

With the win, Scott City snaps their three-game losing streak to Ulysses, and improves their record since 1984 against the Tigers to 42-31. The Lady Beavers have now won four of their last five in Ulysses. Both teams scored a season low of points. 

Sarah McCormick Postgame

Scott City Boys 67, Ulysses 56
This game featured a pair of teams that had struggled recently. Both teams would exchange the lead five times and tie once in the early going. It would be Scott City that delivered the first blow, closing the final 4:2 of the opening period on a 10-2 run to lead 17-10 after the first quarter. Ulysses rallied to within 17-14 in the first two minutes of the second stanza, only to see the Beavers respond with a 10-2 run to take their largest lead of the half at 27-16 with 2:32 left before halftime. The Tigers rallied for four straight to close the half to get to within 27-20 at the break. For most of the third period, the lead for Scott City (4-4, 2-2 GWAC) would not get any bigger than 11 points, which came at 37-26 with 4:29 left in the third. Ulysses (4-4, 1-2) would gain momentum with a 9-2 run to pull to within 39-35 with 1:26 left in the third quarter. The Beavers eventually took a 43-37 lead into the fourth quarter, and never saw their lead drop below six points in the fourth frame. Leading 49-43 midway through the final frame, Scott City opened the game up with a 16-8 run over the next three minutes to have their biggest lead of 65-51 with 46 seconds left. The Tigers scored five of the games final seven points, but fell short to the Beavers 67-56.

Hunter Yager led all scorers with 23 points, while Jackson Lewis added 20. Scott City finished 19-26 from the free throw line, including a 16-22 effort in the fourth period. They outrebounded Ulysses 25-19. Both teams had 11 turnovers. Aaron Galindo led the Tigers with 20 points, while Lance Walker had 15 and Ryan Nightnegale added 11 for Ulysses, who has now dropped three straight. The Tigers finished 9-13 at the line. 

In the victory, Scott City has improved their lead over Ulysses since 1985 49-21, and have win 16 of their last 19 over the Tigers. The Beavers have not lost two consecutive games in Ulysses since their matchups in 1996 and 1997.

Coach Brian Gentry Postgame

Up next for Scott City will be road games at Holcomb on Friday. Both the boys and girls teams for Holcomb dropped games to Hugoton on Tuesday night. Ulysses heads to Goodland on Friday. Goodland was swept by rival Colby Tuesday night.