Coyotes Go 2-1 On Week

Potter-Dix’s Coyote Basketball teams had a busy week, with both squads on the road for match ups against Arthur County and Creek Valley followed by a Saturday afternoon game against Paxton in Potter. The action started Tuesday with the Lady Coyotes in a mismatch against a powerful Arthur County Lady Wolves team. The Potter-Dix program is in a rebuilding phase, but first year Head Coach Shannon Wintholz is already getting results with the girls playing together better and already minimizing their turnovers. The Lady Coyotes struggled to score at all, falling by a final score of 51-to-7.

Conversely, the boys’ team started fast against the Wolves, building up a quick lead and stretching it out to a 35-to-13 advantage. The Coyotes speed and athleticism was on display as they passed the ball around quickly, feeding sophomore Luke Kasten who scored from the outside and drove the lane to put a whopping 36 points on 22 attempts. Potter-Dix continued to pull away throughout the third quarter and ended the night with a 70-to-28 victory.

On Friday, the teams traveled to Chappell to take on the rival Creek Valley Storm. The girls started, and both teams struggled to score, with Potter-Dix only scoring three pionts in the first quarter, all on free throws. Both teams started to play better offensively in the second quarter, and Potter-Dix came back to take a 12-to-11 lead, but with 20 seconds left in the half, Lady Storm sophomore Ella Ningen nailed a three point shot to give Creek Valley a 14-to-12 lead at the half. Both programs have struggled in recent years, but the improvement in both squads, especially the Potter-Dix team, led to an exciting second half that had Potter-Dix start to pull away only to have Creek Valley continue to close with timely three-point shots. Creek Valley senior KK Fletcher was unable to sink a free throw at the end of regulation to put the Lady Storm ahead, and the teams went into overtime tied 34-to-34.

After trading three pointers, the teams battled until they were again tied, this time at 41-to-41. A second overtime was needed to settle the game, and Potter-Dix was able to pull away then hold on for a 49-to-46 victory for the Lady Coyotes, their first of the season.

The boys team took the court against the winless Storm team, and quickly pulled ahead using their speed and height to run up a 17-to-5 first quarter lead. Kasten again was dominant, knocking down three three point shots and totaling 21 points to again lead the Coyotes’ scoring. The teams had a wild third quarter, with both squads scoring often in a fast-paced period, but Creek Valley was unable to stop the Coyotes’ offense and fell further behind, trailing 50-to-30 going into the fourth quarter. The Storm continued to fight, but could not close the gap and fell by a final score of 70-to-48. Potter-Dix had three players score in double digits including Kasten who had a double-double with 12 rebounds in addition to his 21 points, junior Thomas Muldoon with 16 points and freshman Brayden Kasten with 13 points in the win.

The teams finished their week hosting the Paxton Tigers, and the girls team kept up their good play with an admirable showing against a strong Lady Tigers team. The Lady Coyotes fell behind early but recovered well, keeping pace with Paxton as the game progressed. But the early deficit was too much to overcome, and they fell by a final score of 38-to-23 to move their record to 1-and-4 on the year.

The boys team fell behind early to the aggressive Tigers, but battled back to narrow the deficit and trail 25-to-17 in a low scoring first half. The Coyotes made up ground in the third quarter, and kept pressing through the fourth quarter, ultimately falling short by one point, and were handed their second loss of the season by a score of 48-to-47.

Again the Coyotes had three players in double-digits led by senior Javon Coyle with 14 points, junior Thomas Muldoon with 13 points and Luke Kasten with 11 points on the day. The teams were scheduled to have their final game of the calendar year on Tuesday against Leyton in Potter.