Scott City, Holcomb girls cruise to semi-final wins
Scott City, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–The month of March is always special for basketball. Teams find themselves in a fight for a championship in a win or go home situation round by round. Friday’s girls sub-state semi-finals games in Scott City saw wild play in both games with a 6 pm championship spot on the line. In the first game, Holcomb used a 14-2 second quarter run to distance themselves from Goodland in a 52-39 win, while Scott City led from start to finish en route to a 51-28 win over Colby in the night’s finale.
Scott City 51, Colby 28
Over the past 30-plus years, there have been three schools that have predominately ended Scott City’s season. Those schools include Goodland, Larned and Colby. The Lady Beavers had never defeated the Lady Eagles in nine sub-state meetings, and met up with Colby for the first time since 2003 in the postseason. Friday night, it was all Scott City. The Lady Beavers started out leading 8-0 before Colby scored three points, and took a 13-6 lead into the second quarter. On a night where both teams struggled shooting, it was the defense that carried Scott City (12-9). Scott City forced 27 turnovers and limited the Lady Eagles to only five field goals in the game. The Lady Beavers eventually used a 15-11 run to take a 28-17 halftime lead, where they led by as many as 13 points in the second period, and no fewer than six. Aftter Colby (4-17) pulled to within 30-19 with 6:44 remaining in the third quarter, Scott City scored 12 points over a seven-minute span to lead 42-19 with 5:44 remaining in the game. The Lady Eagles also went 11:40 in between field goals from late in the second quarter to the fourth quarter, and also went scoreless for just over 10 minutes in the game. Scott City led by as many as 24 points before settling for the 28 point win at 51-28. Three Lady Beavers reached double figures, led by Kiana Yagers with 12 points, while Emily Weathers and Macie Price added 11. Scott City was 19-30 at the foul line. Colby got 11 points off the bench from Erin Krannawitter. Colby was 17-27 at the free throw line. The Lady Beavers won the rebounding battle 43-22. With the win, Scott City has now won four straight in the series, the most in program history, and it was their first win over Colby in sub-state play in 10 tries.
Sarah McCormick Postgame
Holcomb 52, Goodland 39
The Lady Longhorns and Cowgirls split their regular season doubleheader, each winning on the road. It was only fitting they had their third meeting in a neutral spot. In the first half, it was the bench that carried Holcomb, scoring 12 of their 23 points, to go along with four three’s. After Goodland tied the game early in the second quarter at 9, the Lady Longhorns used a 14-2 run to lead 23-11, and eventually lead 23-15 at the break. Holcomb (8-13) would take advantage of cold free throw shooting and missed field goals by the Cowgirls to begin the second half, using a 10-1 run to lead 33-16 midway through the third quarter. Goodland, however, would make a push, going on a 13-4 run to end the quarter to pull to within 37-29 after three quarters. The Cowgirls were only able to get as close as eight points the entire second half, as Holcomb outscored Goodland (9-12) 15-10 in the final eight minutes of play. The Lady Longhorns eliminated the Cowgirls in the sub-state semi-finals for the second consecutive year. Eboni Sapien led Holcomb with 21 points. The Lady Longhorns were 13-19 at the foul line. Goodland got 17 points from Margaux Thompson and 10 from Elle McDaniel. The Cowgirls finished with 25 turnovers, 18 of those in the first half, and were 15-27 from the free throw line.
Scott City will be playing in their first sub-state championship game since 2002, while Holcomb hasn’t played in a sub-state title game since 2014. The Lady Beavers have won the first two meetings in the series, winning 37-30 at Holcomb on January 10, and 47-45 at home on February 14. Tipoff is set for 6 pm Saturday.
