On Thursday evening, we took in some hoops from "The Nest" at Southern Valley, where they hosted Hi-Line. The schools split matchups as Southern Valley took the girls game, and Hi-Line won the boys.
In the girls game, Southern Valley used their signature pressure defense to create easy offensive opportunities. They won the game over the Bulls, 56-15.
In the opening period, the Eagles jumped out to a fast start behind 11 points from Adi Hunt in the first eight minutes. The Eagles led 18-2 going to the second. Tori Bose took over the reins on offense in the second quarter, scoring eight of the team's 18 points in the quarter. Lauryn Ruda scored Hi-Line's first field goal in the second quarter. Southern Valley led 36-5 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Southern Valley kept pushing forward, expanding their lead to 36 points, 47-11 after 24 minutes. The Eagles closed things out in the fourth quarter with some good defense once again, and Hi-Line themselves played some solid defense holding Southern Valley to nine points.
We chatted with Brynn Baily of Southern Valley after the win. Postgame interviews are brought to you by Acme Printing Company.
Ruda led Hi-Line with six points, Ellaray Koch had four, and Shelby Jurjens had four. Hi-Line falls to 0-4 and will be at home versus Gothenburg on Saturday.
Southern Valley was led by 19 points from Adi Hunt, 11 from Tori Bose, and 10 from Vanessa Aguayo. The Eagles are 2-2 and will face Overton on Saturday. That game will be on the road.
The boys game was a thriller. Hi-Line won 55-50 over the Eagles. Earlier this week, the Bulls had a five-point win versus Maxwell, so close games are in their nature. In their last three games, the average point differential is 4.3 points per game.
This game was pretty close throughout, except for a few moments. Initally, Southern Valley was quicker to the ball, getting rebounds and loose balls.
Hi-Line led by two after the first quarter, 16-14. In the second quarter, the Eagles took control and led 31-27 going to halftime. Isaac Hamilton had a strong half for Southern Valley with 15 points.
In the third quarter, Southern Valley opened things up a little, going up by 10, 37-27. The Bulls climbed back and got it within four, 40-36 going to the final period. To begin the fourth, Judah Niemeier hit a three to make it 40-39. The teams took turns scoring and also getting timely defensive stops.
Hi-Line took the lead with about four minutes to go as Zach Whittaker hit a three-pointer to make it 48-47 in favor of Hi-Line.
With just under a minute to go in the game, it was 52-50 as the Bulls led. Whittaker took the ball to the hoop and placed a little floater in the basket while being fouled. He could not convert the and-one opportunity, but the made bucket sealed the game.
We chatted with Zach after the game. Postgame interviews are brought to you by Acme Printing Company.
Isaac Hamilton was excellent, scoring 26 points in Southern Valley. He hit five three-pointers in the game, too. Trenton Shockman had 10 points, and Tylor Grove had nine. Southern Valley is now 0-4 and will play Overton on the road Saturday.
Hi-Line was led by 24 points from Zach Whittaker and 12 points from both Brody Diefenbaugh and Judah Niemeier. The Bulls are now 3-1 and will play Gothenburg at home on Saturday.
Our players of the Game brought to you by Farmers National Company - Lori Harding Real Estate Sales went to Adi Hunt of Southern Valley, Brody Difenbaugh of Hi-Line, and Judah Niemeier of Hi-Line.
Check out the highlights from the game brought to you by Prairie Girl Candle Company.