In Benkelman, on Tuesday, Dundy County Stratton hosted Wauneta-Palisade for some Holiday Season Hoops action in front of a nice-sized crowd. The Tigers came away with a sweep in the girls and boys games.
Let's start with the girls matchup. Despite a roster that was already a little smaller to start, and now injuries have depleted it more, Dundy County Stratton won an excellent game, 41-34 over Wauneta-Palisade.
Both teams utilized a press and extreme ball pressure to cause problems for one another. About halfway through the first quarter, Coach Matt Schaub and the Tigers took a timeout to regroup, as offense was hard to come by. The Broncos led 6-3 at that point. Both teams were playing with incredible effort.
The offense picked up, and after the first eight minutes, it was 13-10 in favor of DCS.
In the second quarter, DCS came out strong, going on a 9-2 run, and with 4:55 to go in the half, Coach Matt Cox was forced to take a timeout. It was 22-12 at that point. The Broncos did a good job of weathering that storm and crawled back, it was 25-20 at halftime with DCS leading.
In the second half, offense was once again tricky. DCS led after three quarters, 33-27.
The fourth quarter remained close as with 4:00 to go it was 37-33 with DCS in the lead. The teams continued to battle on defense, forcing stop after stop, but eventually, the Tigers prevailed.
We chatted with Kennedy Bailey of DCS after the game about the win. Postgame interviews are brought to you by Acme Printing Company.
The Broncos were led by Kamryn Fanning with 10 points and four rebounds, Mesa Cox had eight points and seven rebounds, and Molly Yearous had seven points and four boards. Izzy Stehno added four points and 10 rebounds. Wauneta-Palisade is 3-3 and will play at South Platte on Friday.
For DCS, Abi Spargo had 15 points to lead the way. Kimberly Escobar had 12 points and Emily Schack had five. The Tigers move to 4-2 and will play face Perkins County on Saturday.
In the boys game, it was all Dundy County Stratton as they won big, 70-23. Wauneta Palisade had a quick surge going up 6-0 in the first quarter. But, DCS stayed the course and reclaimed the lead late in the quarter. They closed the period on a 14-2 run to lead 14-8 at the end of the quarter.
In the second period, The Tigers kept on rolling, outscoring the Broncos 26-6 and led 40-12 at the intermission.
In the third quarter, the Tigers kept pressuring the rock at a high level. The Broncos put in an excellent effort but couldn't convert on the offensive end. It was 58-19 after three quarters.
DCS scored another 12 points in the final quarter and held Wauneta-Palisade to four.
After the game, we visited with August Shaw and got some thoughts on the Tigers' performance. Postgame interviews are brought to you by Acme Printing Company.
For Wauneta-Palisade, Ashton Wheeler had eight points, Grayden Sutherland had four points, and so did Noah Sandman. The Broncos are 1-5 and will play at South Platte on Friday.
Dundy County Stratton was led by Lane Bybee with 15 points and seven rebounds. Dante Horner had 13 points. Ethan Latta added eight points and seven rebounds. DCS is now 6-0 and will play Perkins County on Saturday.
Our players of the Game brought to you by Farmers National Company - Lori Harding Real Estate Sales went to Abi Spargo and Lane Bybee of DCS.
Check out the highlights from the game brought to you by Praire Girls Candle Company.