Scott City opens up new gym with a sweep of Goodland

Scott City, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–Over the course of time, Scott City and Goodland have had some good battles on the court, not only at Goodland, but also in Scott City. For nearly six decades, the games in Scott City would feature two schools competing in NWKL play, GWAC play, the Scott City Invitational, or post season play. Tuesday night’s game saw a brand new venue open up inside the Scott Community Events Center at Scott City Middle School, as the two schools renewed their series. Both games saw some interesting fourth quarters. In the end, it would be the homestanding Beavers would prevail, as the Scott City girls held on for a 54-48 win, while the Scott City boys saw a big lead shrink early in the fourth quarter, but pulled away for a 69-55 win. 

Scott City Girls 54, Goodland 48
The Lady Beavers came in with their longest win streak in the series at six games. In the end, this one would be the closest in a while. Goodland held an early 4-2 lead before Scott City responded with a 14-2 run in the final 4:47 of the opening quarter to lead 16-6 after one period. The Cowgirls would pull to within seven on a pair of occasions, before the Lady Beavers took their biggest lead of the half at 22-11 with 2:04 left before halftime. Goodland would close on an 8-2 run to get to within 24-19 at intermission. Scott City (6-0, 2-0 GWAC) opened up the second half with the first seven points to lead 31-19 with 5:08 left in the third period. They would lead by double digits, and took a 39-17 lead into the final quarter. After the Lady Beavers took a 43-29 lead with 6:24 left, the Cowgirls made a couple of surges in the final period. Their first came with a 6-0 run to get to within 43-35 with 5:29 left. Goodland (3-3, 0-2) a final late surge with seven straight to pull to within 52-48 with 11 seconds left. Scott City hit two free throws to pick up a 54-48 win. 

Scott City was led by Lyndi Rumford with 18 points, 12 by Emily Weathers and 11 from Brynn McCormick. They were 13-17 at the line and had 19 turnovers. Goodland got 18 points from Taighe Weeter and 10 from Talexa Weeter. The Cowgirls finished 13-16 from the free throw line and had 24 turnovers. Scott City won the rebounding battle 22-17. The Cowgirls hit seven three-pointers in the game to stay within striking distance.

With the win, Scott City has won seven straight in the series, their longest run in the series history, and both teams have won 25 games in the series since 1985. Scott City’s 6-0 start is their best start since the 1994-95 season, and have hit at least 54 points in every game. Goodland has lost three straight after starting the year 3-0.

Coach Sarah McCormick Postgame

Scott City Boys 69, Goodland 55
If you watched both teams entering Tuesday’s games, the one word you would think of would be consistency. Both teams came in with an 18-day layoff between games, and it would feature a game that would see some big runs by both teams. Goodland jumped out to a 9-3 lead with 5:22 left in the first quarter, before Scott City put together their biggest run of the season. They would close out the final 4:28 of the first frame on a 22-4 run, and had consecutive scoring streaks of 10 and nine before taking a 25-13 lead after the first eight minutes of play. The Beavers scored three straight to open the second period, before the Cowboys made it 28-18 with 5:04 left before the break. Goodland would go scoreless over the next eight minutes of the game. Scott City (3-3, 1-1 GWAC) closed the first half with seven straight to lead 35-18 at the break, and over the first five minutes of the second half, built their largest lead of the night at 41-20 with 3:13 left in the third stanza. What looked to be a rout turned into the complete opposite. The Cowboys closed their third period on a 9-2 run to get to within 43-29 going into the fourth quarter. To open up the first two minutes of the fourth quarter, Goodland (1-5, 0-2) hit their first four shots, and got to within 43-39 with 6:11 left in the game. Scott City would settle down and score the next eight points to go back up 51-39 with 4:14 left. Their biggest lead in the final quarter would be at 60-44 with 2:17 left. The closest the Cowboys would get would be 12 points on a couple of occasions, before the Beavers would settle for a 69-55 win. That would be a season-high of points for Scott City.

Four Beavers finished in double figures, led by Jackson Lewis with 19 points, Ronnie Weathers with a career-high 18, Hunter Yager added 16 and Evyan Smith finished with 10. Scott City was 9-10 from the foul line in the fourth quarter, and were 18-27 for the game, and had 13 turnovers. Goodland got a career-best 29 points from Henry Cole, and 15 from Brennan Brumbaugh. The Cowboys went 10-11 at the line, but had 27 turnovers. Goodland won the rebounding battle 28-25. 

Scott City has won four straight in the series, and now 31 of the last 34 games, and have a 34-17 edge in the series since 1984. The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Beavers. Goodland has lost four straight, and put up their second high in points for the season. 

Coach Brian Gentry Postgame

Scott City will remain at home on Friday night, as they face the Colby Eagles in GWAC play. The Lady Eagles enter with a 7-0 record, and the Colby boys are 4-3, after they split with Hoxie on Tuesday. Goodland will host Hugoton on Friday. Hugoton had Tuesday night off.