Tough Week For Coyote Hoops

It was a tough week for the Potter-Dix Coyote Basketball teams, as they made a long trip out to New Raymer, Colo., on Tuesday, January 23 and came up empty, then hosted Crawford Saturday afternoon only to come out on the wrong side of the ledger each time.

Tuesday's match up had the teams travel to New Raymer to take on the Prairie Mustang teams. The third-ranked 1A Central Lady Mustangs opened the girls' contest hot, quickly building a lead and holding an 18-to-5 lead at the end of the first period. The Lady Mustangs defense turned it on in the second quarter, allowing just one point by Potter-Dix via free throw to take a 33-to-6 lead into the half. Fortunes didn't turn for the Lady Coyotes in the second half, as they were limited to 7 points in the third quarter and 5 in the fourth, mostly against Prairie bench players. Madison Williamson led the scoring for Potter-Dix in the 53-to-18 loss.

The boys' squad did not fare much better in their game, as after keeping the score close at 17-to-11 after the first quarter, the boys were only able to muster six points in the second quarter against 14 for Prairie to fall behind 31-to-17. Potter-Dix played strong defense in the third quarter to hold Prairie down to just 7 points in the quarter, but the Coyote's 10 points did not do much to chip away at the Prairie lead. The Mustangs held on in the fourth quarter, preventing any rally by the Potter-Dix squad, and came away with the 49-to-36 win. Potter-Dix senior Caden McConnell was the high-scorer for the Coyotes, with 14 points in the loss. Senior Brayden Kasten had 8 points and 7 rebounds, but struggled beyond the arc, missing all six of his three point attempts.

The Coyote teams tried to recover on Saturday against the visiting Ram teams from Crawford, but the Lady Rams proved too tough for the Lady Coyotes. Crawford started with a solid first quarter, putting up 11 points against the Lady Coyotes' 4, and this continued through the second period, with Crawford holding a 24-to-10 lead at the half. Potter-Dix had a strong third quarter, putting up 13 while holding Crawford to just 7 points to cut into the lead. Crawford put any hopes of a Potter-Dix rally on ice in the fourth quarter, holding the Lady Coyotes to just 5 point while putting up 10 of their own to take the 41-to-28 win.

The boys' squad did not have enough firepower to stay with the Rams in their game, as the visitors built a lead and kept the Coyotes at bay through the game. The Rams came away with a 47-to-31 win. The teams will get their chances to get back on the winning track, hosting Garden County on Friday and then traveling to Peetz on Tuesday, February 6. The girls record is at 4-and-12 and the boys are at 8-and-9 for the season.