Scott City sweeps Holcomb

Holcomb, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–It’s been a 17-day wait for the matchup of a pair of GWAC foes, as Holcomb and Scott City would meet up at the midway point of the league slate. At the end of the night, it would be a night that was owned by the Beavers, as the Lady Beavers would withstand every Longhorn rally in a 66-53 win, while the Scott City boys used a huge first half run to stun Holcomb 67-47.

Scott City Girls 66, Holcomb 53
Scott City would get off to a hot start like they have over their previous four games, leading 11-3 at the midway point of the first frame. Unlike their previous four games, Holcomb would counter with a 12-4 run over the next three-plus minutes to lead 17-15 with six seconds left in the first quarter. The Lady Beavers would get a half court three from Madison Shapland to put them up 18-17 after the first eight minutes of play. Scott City (12-1, 4-1 GWAC) would continue their run in the second with the first eight points of the period to lead 26-17 with 5:35 left in the half. Another 9-0 run put them up 37-22 late in the second quarter, as they took a 39-24 halftime lead. In the first two minutes of the second half, it looked as if the Lady Beavers were going to run Holcomb right out of their own gym, as they led 48-31 with 6:05 left in the third period. Scott City would go scoreless for nearly five minutes, and the Lady Longhorns would take advantage. Holcomb (4-10, 2-3) used a 12-0 run to pull to within 48-43 with 2:06 remaining in the third quarter. The Lady Beavers would score the final five points of the period to lead 53-43 going in to the fourth quarter. In the final period, Scott City would push their lead to 11 at 57-46, before the Lady Longhorns made one final rally, to get to within 59-53 with 1:46 left. The Lady Beavers scored the final seven points of the game en route to the win. 

Leading the way for Scott City was Amber Latta, who poured in a career-high 15 points, while Emily Weathers added 12, Lyndi Rumford 11 and Brynn McCormick 10. Scott City shot 14-16 from the free throw line and finished with 14 turnovers. Teryn Teeter led Holcomb with 17 points while Madison Ruda had 11 and Lauren Jones added 10. The Lady Longhorns shot 14-20 at the free throw line, and had 14 turnovers. Scott City would win the rebounding edge 30-21.

With the win, Scott City has now won eight straight in the series, and nine out of the last 10. Holcomb still leads the all-time series 29-25, as the Lady Beavers have now won four straight in9- Holcomb. It was the most points that the Lady Longhorns have allowed this season, as they dropped their fifth straight. Scott City has won six consecutive for a second time this year.

Coach Sarah McCormick Postgame

Scott City Boys 67, Holcomb 47
A pair of teams who have struggled in recent days met up in hopes of getting their week off to a good start. Holcomb would get the first run, leading 5-0 in the first two minutes of the game. Scott City would rally, and they would rally in a big way. Trailing 7-5, the Beavers would score the final seven points of the quarter to go up 12-7 after one period. They would go on to score the first 19 points of the second frame to lead 31-0 with 2:41 left before halftime. In the end, it would be a 26-0 Scott City run, that saw the Longhorns go scoreless for over nine minutes. It would be a 36-14 Beaver lead at the break. Scott City (7-6, 3-2 GWAC) would take their largest lead of the half at the time at 51-24 with 2:26 remaining in the third quarter. The Longhorns made one final push in the stanza with a 7-2 run to get to within 53-31 going into the fourth quarter. In the final eight minutes, the lead for Scott City would grow to 61-33 with 5:03 left, which was their largest lead of the night. Holcomb (9-5, 2-3 GWAC) made a rally late and would eventually fall 67-47.

Scott City got a career-high 15 points from Parker Gooden, 14 from Jackson Lewis and 11 by Evan Smith. The Beavers shot 7-10 at the foul line and finished with 11 turnovers. Holcomb was led by Dalton Long off the bench with 14 points, while Zephyn Mason had 12 and Jackson Stoppel added 11. The Longhorns went 8-9 at the free throw line and had 12 turnovers. Scott City dominated the glass 30-18.

With the win, Scott City won in Holcomb for the first time since 2013, snapping a six-game losing streak in Holcomb. The series is 31-25 in favor of Scott City. In their seven wins of the season, the Beavers have had one victory below 10 points. They have now won three of four. The Longhorns have dropped three of their last four games, and had their second lowest offensive output of the season.

Coach Brian Gentry Postgame

Up next for Scott City is Winter Homecoming on Tuesday night at the Scott Community Event Center against Cimarron, and will conclude the week at Hugoton on Friday. Holcomb will visit Goodland on Friday.