Scott City sweeps Colby on Winter Homecoming

Scott City, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–The second half of Great West Activities Conference play took place Friday night at Scott Community High School. Also looming large for the two GWAC foes were a pair of tight games that also had an impact on the Colby Sub-State seeding, as the regular season is coming to a close. In the end, it was the homestanding Beavers who came out on top, as the girls withstood a late Colby charge 38-30, while a fourth quarter surge helped out the boys in a 49-41 win over the Eagles.

Girls
Both teams have been down a starter in recent action. For Scott City, Bailey Latta was missing her second straight game, while Colby’s Jill Stephens has not played in seven straight games. The Lady Beavers would find themselves in familiar position Friday early on as they did on Tuesday, with a scoring drought of over three minutes, as the Lady Eagles took leads of 8-3 and 10-5 late in the first quarter. Scott City would score the final three points of the period to pull to within 10-8 after one quarter. Colby maintained their lead in the second quarter, despite the lead switching hands four times, as they took an 18-17 halftime lead.

The third quarter would belong to the Beavers. Scott City (13-2, 6-0 GWAC) took over the game with a 15-4 run in the third eight minutes of play, and closed the final 2:04 with six straight to go up 32-22 after three quarters. The Lady Beavers would extend their lead to 34-22 early in the fourth quarter, and it looked as if they were going to pull away. Colby (8-7, 3-3) had other intentions. They scored the next eight points over a four-minute, 42-second span to get to within 34-30 with 2:08 left. That would be their last rally of the night. Despite a drought of nearly seven and a half minutes, Scott City got a bucket from Emily Weathers with 18 seconds left to go up 36-30, and a pair of Emily Smith free throws with three seconds left put the game on ice for the Lady Beavers in a 38-30 triumph.

Scott City was led by Emily Weathers with 13 points and Emily Smith with 11. The Lady Beavers shot 7-13 at the foul line and had 13 turnovers. Colby got 13 from Hallie Vaughn, 12 of them coming in the first half. The Lady Eagles committed 20 turnovers and were only 7-17 at the free throw line. Scott City dominated the boards 26-19

It was the sixth straight win for Scott City in the series, their longest win streak over the Lady Eagles. Since 1984, Colby leads the series 44-10. It was also Scott City’s fourth straight win in their own gym over the Lady Eagles. With the win, the Lady Beavers have now won seven straight GWAC games dating back to last year. Scott City now holds a four-game lead over Cimarron and a five-game lead over Colby and Norton for the top sub-state seed with five games remaining. They also have a two-game lead on Hugoton and Ulysses with four league games remaining.

Coach Sarah McCormick Postgame

Boys
With only one game separating Colby and Scott City in the win-loss column, it looked like it would be a good matchup on paper. Overall, it was well-contested until the end. There were two lead changes and five ties in the first quarter, before the Beavers closed out the final 2:41 of the period on a 9-3 run to take a 13-9 lead after the first quarter. While the second quarter didn’t show a strong scoring outburst, Scott City hit just three field goals, all three pointers, and found a way to extend their lead to as big as eight at 22-14 with under two minutes left in the first half, before settling for a 22-15 halftime edge.

Colby (5-10, 1-5 GWAC) started off with four straight points to pull to within three just two minutes into the second half at 22-10. The teams would trade baskets in the third quarter, before the Beavers took a 29-26 lead into the fourth quarter. Scott City (7-8, 3-3 GWAC) converted two straight three-point baskets by Reid Brunswig and Marshal Faurot to begin the fourth quarter to push their lead to 35-28 with 7:01 remaining, and it looked as if it would transfer into a runaway for the Beavers. However, Colby found a way to chip away at the lead. They would score the next five points to pull to within 35-33 with 4:39 left. That was the closest they got the rest of the way. Scott City scored the next five points go to up 40-33 with 2:58 left, and the teams would trade buckets. The Beavers went on a 7-2 run to go up 49-38 with 21 seconds left, before the Eagles hit a late three to make it 49-41, which was the same margin of victory for Scott City in Colby on December 19 in a 43-35 win.

Marshal Faurot led Scott City with 20 points, which tied a career-high. The Beavers 7-13 at the free throw line and finished with 15 turnovers. Seven out of the eight players that played scored. Colby had seven players score, but had no one in double figures. Jadan Siruta led them with nine points. The Eagles were 6-12 at the charity line, and had 12 turnovers. Scott City won the rebounding battle 29-21

With the win, the Beavers have won 19 straight over Colby in the series dating back to 2010, including 11 consecutive in Scott City since 2004. Since 1984, Scott City now holds a 28-27 series edge. With the win and a Cimarron loss, the Beavers are now tied for fourth place in the Colby sub-state with a 7-8 record, and hold the tiebreaker with Tuesday’s win. Southwestern Heights is 6-7 on the year and are tied with Scott City and Cimarron in the standings, but are percentage points behind both teams. Scott City also moved into a tie for second with Goodland and Hugoton in the GWAC standings, after Hugoton knocked off the Cowboys.

Coach Brian Gentry Postgame