On Thursday evening, the RPAC West and East each hosted three games: a pair of consolations and the semifinals to determine who will play in the RPAC Title Game on Saturday. On the West, Wauneta-Palisade was the host, and on the East, Alma was the host.
At the end of the blog, check out the bracket to see matchups and times.
RPAC WEST GIRLS BASKETBALL RESULTS
The day's first game pitted #6 seeded Wauneta-Palisade against #5 seed Hitchcock County. The Broncos came away with the win 54-45. With it being a consolation game, sometimes you wonder how competitive the teams will be. In this one, you did not have to worry about that, as both teams competed incredibly hard.
And to go along with that, consolation games on both the West and East had great competitive action, so that was awesome to see.
In the first quarter, the Broncos led 14-10. After that, Wauneta-Palisade extended the lead and was up 27-20 going to halftime.
In the third, Hitchcock County found a surge and took the lead 38-36 going to the fourth. The Broncos themselves a spark as they outscored Hitchcock County 18-7 to get the win.
For Hitchcock County, Madysen Carlson scored 16 points, and Kaiah Johnson had nine.
For Wauneta-Palisade, Mesa Cox had six, Molly Yearous had 11, and Izzy Stehno had 10.
In the next game, I will tell you what: high-high drama. It was another consolation game, and it was #2 Dundy County versus #4 Maxwell. The Tigers got the win, 38-37. Scoring was hard to come by for most of the game. After the first quarter, DCS was in control 11-4.
In the second, Maxwell was able to come back a bit, and they trailed 18-15 at halftime.
The third quarter remained close as DCS led 27-23 going to the fourth. The offense for both teams got going a little bit later in the game. With under a minute to go, Maxwell led 37-35. DCS had possession of the rock with about 20 seconds to go.
As the clock ticked down to 10 seconds, Emily Schack, who earlier in the week helped send a game to overtime against Paxton with a three-pointer, hit a triple in the left corner to make it 38-37, and DCS captured the win.
An excellent game, to say the least.
For Maxwell, Jenna Miller had nine points, Kristyn Cheek had seven, and Emory Christensen had seven.
For DCS, Clara Spargo had 12 points, Ava Lutz had eight, Kennedy Bailey scored five, and Stephanie Escobar and Emily Schack had four.
Now for the West Finals...It was #1 seed Maywood-Hayes Center versus #3 seed Paxton. MHC was able to win this matchup 47-24.
Both teams were flying around on the defensive side for the entire game. Maywood-Hayes Center set the tone in the game, and after the first quarter, they were up 14-7. In the second quarter, it was tough sledding for both teams.
They were getting looks but could not convert them into points. The Wolves scored six points in the period, Paxton, just two, and it was 20-9 at halftime.
In the second half, MHC was able to increase the lead and get the win. They were up 27-15 after three quarters. In the fourth, the Wolves' pressure really took over as they recorded a number of steals and easy runouts.
They outscored the Tigers 20-9 to close things out.
For MHC, they were led by Blayklee Farr with 10 points, Caylie Softley with 10, and Karissa Stengel with eight.
Paxton was paced by Jordan Clouse with seven points and Ella Fote and Reece Glinn had four.
RPAC EAST GIRL BASKETBALL RESULTS
On the East side, the first consolation game was #5 Cambridge versus #7 Bertrand. Cambridge was able to capture the win 50-40. Cambridge jumped out to a 12-2 lead after the opening eight minutes. Bertrand cut the deficit down to 23-16 at the intermission.
Cambridge maintained the lead in the third quarter and was 36-30 after three. In the fourth, Cambridge outscored the Vikings 14-10 to secure the win.
Cambridge was led by Mallory Springer with 22 points, Elisabeth Kubik had nine points, and Brooklyn Holtze had seven.
Brooklyn Evans scored 18 points for Bertrand, and Shelby Schoene scored 10.
The second game on the East side was #3 Southern Valley versus #4 Arapahoe. The Eagles were able to take this consolation matchup, 50-31. Southern Valley staked out a solid lead in the first half of 29-15.
Arapahoe competed hard with the Eagles but couldn't keep up with Southern Valley's offensive output.
The Eagles kept pushing forward, leading 38-21 after three.
In the final stanza, Southern Valley outscored the Warriors 12-10 to close it out.
For Arapahoe, Clara Hilker had nine, Suttyn Shafer had eight, and Emma Strand had four.
For Southern Valley, Vanesa Aguyo had a big game with 23, including three threes; Brynn Baily scored 10, and Adi Hunt had seven.
Now for the East Finals...On the East side, it was #1 seed Southwest versus #2 seed Alma. The Roughriders won a thriller, 48-47. The game was close throughout the whole game. Alma jumped out to a lead in the first, 13-10. In the second period, the offenses picked up, and Southwest took the lead, 28-27 at halftime.
Alma reclaimed the lead in the third quarter, going up 39-36.
In the fourth, Southwest outscored Alma 12-8 to sneak by with a win. But, of course, it was high drama. It was 46-46 with under a minute to go, and Aspen Billeter hit a go-ahead bucket to put Southwest up 48-46.
The Cardinals then called a timeout. Alma then had a chance to tie things with a pair of free throws from Chayse Molzahn as she got fouled. She made one of two, the second one being the miss, and the Cardinals a chance to take lead following an offensive board, but the shot attempt from Tierston Moore was off the mark and time expired.
Incredible effort from both teams.
Aspen Billeter had 16 points to lead Southwest, and Kyra Nelms added 12. Anastasia Gallegos had seven.
For Alma, Kamri Neal had 11 points, Vayden Epp had 10, and Kamryn Scott and Tierston Moore each had eight.
Again, what a game from both of these teams. One that felt like neither team should have lost.
So, Championship Saturday is set for the girls. Of course, games will be at the Graff Events Center at McCook Community College. The 3rd and 4th place game will feature from the West #3 Paxton versus #2 from the East Alma. That game will be at 2:00 P.M. CT.
These squads played last year in this game, too, and Alma won 65-43.
In the title game it features #1 seed from the West and the East, Maywood-Hayes Center and Southwest. Both teams are top-10 rated in their respective classes, MHC in C2 and Southwest in D1. These two teams played each other on December 7th and it was MHC who won 57-48.
Tip-off is slated for 5:30 P.M. CT.
For Southwest, this is their first-ever RPAC Title Game appearance in basketball. In 2012, they beat Hayes Center in the 3rd and 4th place game. Based on the records we have, that is the lone time they have made it this far in the Conference Tournament.
Now for the Maywood-Hayes Center, this is their fifth straight appearance. Last season they lost to Southern Valley, the year before that they fell to Southern Valley too, and in 2022, and 2021, they were RPAC Champs. In 2019 and 2020, they were 3rd place finishers, and in 2018 they finished 4th.
Let's go a little further back, too, just for fun. In 2008, Maywood finished 3rd, and in 2012, they finished 4th, as previously stated.
This matchup has all of the makings of a great one and should be a lot of fun.
Check out the updated bracket below for more info.
