Warriors upended by foul shots, Hemingford

The whistle was as much a part of Saturday’s game as the jump shot. In the first quarter alone, Leyton and Hemingford combined for 15 fouls, compared to 18 points.

Unfortunately for the host Warriors, 14 of those precious points belonged to Hemingford, who handed Leyton a 50-31 loss.

“It was their defense,” Dani McKay said, explaining the outcome. “They’re quick and they’re tough.”

Quickness was only evident in briefs spurts, however. From the start, infractions set the pace. Less than half a minute from the tip, contact by the Bobcats’ Cali Rohrbouck sent Diedra Waite to the line. She converted on both shots, to put Leyton on top 2-0—the last time they would hold the lead.

Hemingford responded with two quick transition baskets before the action returned to the free throw stripe, the Bobcats’ Precious Campbell hitting two, Natalie Cruise responding with one.

The visitors made three more trips to the line in the first period, while Leyton added just one more visit, earning a point from McKay. In fact, the Warriors did not knock one down from the floor until the 6:14 mark in the second period, when Katy Ernest drained an open jumper.

Hemingford responded with a 7-1 run, extending their advantage to 21-7, broken by the Warriors’ second success from the floor, Kaitlyn Berner peeling off a pick by Diedra Waite to convert a driving layup.

By halftime, the Bobcats’ were on top 25-10.

After the break, Leyton clawed their way back within reach of a single-digit gap on back to back jumpers by Ernest and Kelsey Waite. But Hemingford closed out the third period on a 12-3 run, half of the visitors’ points coming from the line.

A free throw by Diedra Waite and an Emily Gill put back accounted for the Warriors’ scoring.

“They just trailed away from us,” Kelsey Waite explained.

Hemingford’s Natalie Gasseling and Brooke Turek proved difficult to stop, each putting double-digits on the board. Yet the gaps widened like a slow wound rather than a gushing blowout. Ernest scored from an inbound pass, the Bobcats answered with three points from the line. The Waite sisters and Ernest pieced together a 6-0 run, but Hemingford came back with a 7-0 burst of their own.

But foul shots were the measure of this game. Leyton visited the line 13 times, converting 12 of 24. The visitors, meanwhile, ended up with 18 points from 29 attempts. Combined, the two teams where charged with 46 fouls and made 29 trips to the charity stripe.

Leyton heads into the holiday break after a 3-4 start.

“I don’t think we’re doing too bad,” McKay said of the young season. “We’ll work on things in practice and come out strong.”

Leyton firepower sends Wildcats scurrying

Friday night’s encounter with Banner County was over in the first quarter—perhaps the first minute.

The Warriors opened their 50-17 home romp with 8 quick points, starting right off the tip when Kaitlyn Berner whipped the ball half the length of the court to Katy Ernest.

“When we scrimmaged in practice, me and Katy did that,” Berner explained. “I told her to be ready for it if it was there in the game.”

It was, and Ernest put Leyton on top in the first two seconds of play by sinking the layup and bonus, given when she was hacked going up. The Wildcats then lost the ball to Berner, who picked out Natalie Cruise in the paint.

Before the first minute ticked away, Cruise took a kick out pass at the top of the key and drained a three pointer.

“Kelsey [Waite] gave me the ball and I just shot it,” Cruise said. “I had a goal to make as many points as possible.”

The sophomore guard met expectations, ending up with a team-leading 11 on the night.

By the time Banner County took their first shot of the contest—a miss—the Warriors held an 8-0 lead. Diedra and and Kelsey Waite added to that total with a pair of free throws each. Berner then powered into the lane for a layup and Cruise struck again from beyond the arc.

When Shaela Jenkins closed out the first period by flying coast to coast after a steal, Leyton claimed a 19-0 advantage.

The spree extended to 25-0 on tallies by Diedra Waite and Dani McKay before the visitors finally breached the scoreboard with two minutes remaining in the half. Leyton’s defense had blanked the Wildcats for 14 minutes.

But the Warriors went right back to work on the other end. Jessica Houk hit from three point range and Katie Higgins beat the buzzer with a put back to seal a 30-2 lead at the break. They dominated the third quarter, too, outscoring Banner County 18-2 over the eight minutes span.

“I was getting assists,” Berner said. “It felt good to see girls open all over the court.”

Ten players put points on the board for Leyton on the night. Four of those—Cruise, Berner, McKay and Ernest—hit from three point land. As a team, the Warriors converted 11 of 15 from the stripe—a 73 percent clip. Defensively they conceded just 4 points through the first three periods.

Banner County’s offense woke up in the final quarter, led by Taylor Evans. The visitors embarked on a 13-2 run, blighted only by a short jumper from Higgins. But the outburst was anticlimactic. Given a cushion, the Warriors were already anticipating a tougher Saturday battle.

“We have to carry the good things from today into tomorrow,” Cruise said.

Girls Basketball

Hemingford 50

Leyton 31

Leyton 50

Banner Co. 17