Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Sidney High's Kelsey Knight prepares to get off a shot in Saturday's title game against Wheatland (Wyo). The Lady Raiders lost, 41-23.
It was a tale of two very different games for the Sidney High Lady Raiders in the Cabela's Holiday Tournament. They mauled the Gothenburg Swedes in the opener, but were bitten hard by the Wheatland (Wyo.) Bulldogs in the championship game.
The Raiders (4-5) struggled to get on track against the Bulldogs as they managed just a single field goal in the first 15:59 of the game in the 41-23 loss.
Wheatland, a big team with a long history of success in Wyoming, has won state championships as recently as 2011 and 2012.
While trying to penetrate a well-executed zone defense, Sidney struggled the entire game to score inside. No one on the Sidney roster managed to score in double digits as Savanna Rosenbaum led the way with five points. Abby Heller, Jasmine Jallen and Halle Ramsey each contributed four points apiece. The Bulldogs' Ellen Anderson led all scorers with 13.
"Playing a team this talented is a good test for us and helps us see what we need to do to improve our level of play," said the Lady Raiders' Erin Brown. "This is the type of game that can actually help us in the future."
When Rosenbaum dropped one through the hoop early in the first quarter, the score stood at 2-2. But the momentum soon swung dramatically the Bulldogs' way as they finished the quarter with an 11-3 lead. Sidney could manage only a free throw by Heller to supplement the Rosenbaum deuce.
In the second quarter, Emily Mahr finally broke the long field-goal drought as her layup beat the halftime horn by a second. Stingy defense and shooting struggles defined much of the third quarter as only Jallen could score for the Raiders. Wheatland finished the third period with a 27-8 advantage.
Offensive activity for both teams picked up in the final quarter. Sidney found the twine much more receptive, finishing with a 15-14 advantage in the final eight-minute stretch. Both squads utilized their bench significantly in the final quarter.
"I think we can move on quickly from this one," Jallen said. "It's just one game and we're not going to let one game against a very good team define us."
Friday's game
Sidney 47, Gothenburg 16
Though the buckets were slow to start falling, the Lady Raiders finally found their groove and went on to an impressive 47-16 win in the opening round of the tournament Friday.
In all, 10 Raiders scored. Emily Mahr and Maddi Porter led the way with 12 and eight points, respectively. Ashley Stafford (7 points) and Jallen (6) were also productive.
Though it never trailed, Sidney was still even with the Swedes at 5-5 more than two minutes into the second quarter. Once Annalise Lecher dropped in a layup off an inbounds pass with 5:10 left in the half, it suddenly became a long night for Gothenburg. The Lady Raiders never again trailed and finished the half ahead 19-5.
"We knew they were tall and aggressive so we knew we had to play strong defense to win," said Porter of a team that has three 6-footers. "We tried several different defenses with man-to-man and zones and it was pretty effective."
The rout continued into the third quarter with Sidney racing out to a 35-13 lead. One of the highlights of the quarter was a bang-bang passing play with Lecher getting the ball to Jallen, who fed Brown underneath. Sidney continued its fine two-way play by winning the quarter, 12-3.
"It was important to get back on track since we haven't had such a great start," Mahr said. "We had a strong week of practice with everybody working hard."
Sidney is back on the hardwood again Thursday when they meet the Kimball Longhorns on the road.
WEEKEND BOXSCORES
Friday’s game
Sidney 47, Gothenburg 16
Gothenburg 3 2 8 3 – 16
Sidney 5 14 16 12 – 47
GOTHENBURG (16) – Makaela Franzen 5, Mady Vogel 4, Gracie Stienike 4, McKenna Peterson 3.
SIDNEY (47) – Emily Mahr 12, Maddi Porter 8, Ashley Stafford 7, Jasmine Jallen 6, Annalise Lecher 4, Kelsey Knight 3, Erin Brown 2, Abbey Mills 2, Abby Heller 2, Savanna Rosenbaum 1.
Saturday’s game
Wheatland (Wyo.) 41, Sidney 23
Wheatland 11 8 8 14 – 41
Sidney 3 3 2 15 – 23
WHEATLAND (41) – Ellen Anderson 13, Kelsey Vaughn 7, Shelby Connolly 6, Rachael Geile 4, Bailey Tillman 4, Madissen Hester 2, L. Martinez 2, Ashley Hyche 2, Sierra Amundson 1.
SIDNEY (23) – Savanna Rosenbaum 5, Jasmine Jallen 4, Abby Heller 4, Halle Ramsey 4, Maddie Stafford 3, Emily Mahr 2, Vanessa Riley 1.
Cabela’s Tournament ResultsGirls’ Division
Friday, Jan. 2
At Sidney High School
Angler’s Division
Wheatland (Wyo.) 38, Chase County 30
Sidney 47, Gothenburg 16
At Sidney Middle School
Hunter’s Division
Hershey 52, Gering 41
Central City 50, Laramie (Wyo.) 29
Saturday, Jan. 3
At Sidney High School
Consolation: Gothenburg 38, Chase County 34
Championship: Wheatland (Wyo.) 41, Sidney 23
At Sidney Middle School
Consolation: Laramie (Wyo.) 44, Gering 35
Championship: Central City 61, Hershey 25
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