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Hitchcock County girls claim RPAC title
BARTLEY, Neb. -- Hitchcock County's basketball girls just keep rolling along this season.
The Falcons kept their perfect record intact with a 54-35 win over Southern Valley Saturday, Jan. 28, to claim the 2012 Republican Plains Activities Conference Tournament championship.
The RPAC Tournament finals were contested Jan. 28 at the Southwest High School gym in Bartley.
Hitchcock County improved to 18-0, while Southern Valley lost for just the fourth time in 18 games this season. The Eagles also dropped a 39-36 decision to the Falcons in a regular-season meeting Jan. 3 in the Cambridge Post-Holiday Tournament finals.
The tournament final games Saturday at Southwest in the boys division both turned into nail-biters. Paxton won the RPAC boys title Saturday night with an exciting 43-42 win over Southern Valley. Arapahoe took home the third-place trophy with a 70-69 overtime decision over Dundy County-Stratton.
In the girls third-place final Saturday afternoon, host Southwest improved to 13-5 with a 37-28 win over Hayes Center.
Falcons top seed
Hitchcock County entered the RPAC Tournament as the top seed in the girls West Division. The Falcons won three games to claim the school's first-ever league tournament championship.
Head coach Jarod Albers was very pleased with his team's effort.
"During this week the girls took their game up a notch," Albers said after the finals win Saturday. "We played consistent on defense, but our offensive team play was outstanding. We had multiple girls step up and contribute at a high level in winning the school's first RPAC championship. I felt that the key for the week was the quiet confidence shown by the girls in not getting over-hyped for the situation -- as I felt most of our opponents did."
Hitchcock County outscored Southern Valley 10-5 in the second period to help build a 26-18 halftime lead. The Falcons had a 14-9 scoring edge in the third period to up the lead to 40-27.
Laramey Lewis had another strong game for Hitchcock County. The senior tallied 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to go with 5 steals and 3 assists. Jacee Kershaw added 10 points for the Falcons. Kristen Garner also hauled in 9 rebounds, and Laura Miller also had 4 steals.
The Falcons shot 46.3 percent from the floor, hitting 19 of 41 total field goals.
Southern Valley was led by Kattie Sadd with 8 points, plus Alissa Brooks and Emily Becker with 7 points each.
Hitchcock County will start building toward Class D1-10 Sub-District Tournament action that begins Feb. 13 at the McCook High School gym.
"We have finished the first two-thirds (of the season) undefeated, which is amazing and right where we want to be," Coach Albers said. "After we enjoy this championship, we will need to get back at it and prepare ourselves for post-season play."
Girls third-place final
Southwest used a strong first half to top Hayes Center in the girls third-place final Saturday afternoon.
The host Roughriders jumped to a 13-4 lead after one quarter, and Southwest led 23-12 at intermission.
Hayes Center head coach Matt Cox said he was pleased with his team's effort, but the first-quarter deficit proved too much to overcome.
"We just dug ourselves a hole in the first quarter and had to fight every possession the rest of the game," Cox said. "Southwest did a good job of contesting every shot the entire game."
Kate Kelley paced Southwest with 16 points. Abby Daffer chipped in 10 points for the winners. Daffer also had a team-high 9 rebounds
Halsie Large and Haley Tyan led Hayes Center with 8 points each. Tyan also had a team-high 6 rebounds, and Annie Deaver added 6 points for the Cards.
Boys division results
In RPAC boys semifinal action Friday, Jan. 27, Southern Valley nipped Arapahoe, 41-39, in East Division action at Bertrand. West Division host Paxton topped Dundy County-Stratton, 68-37.
Four RPAC Tournament consolation games were also played Friday in the boys division. In the West Division at Paxton, Hayes Center beat Wauneta-Palisade, 44-40, and Hitchcock County beat Wallace, 43-40. In the East Division at Bertrand, the hosts nudged Medicine Valley, 45-43, and Cambridge ran past Alma, 51-39.
The Hayes Center boys rallied in the second half Friday in their consolation bracket win over Wauneta-Palisade. The Cardinals were outscored 16-4 in the second quarter as W-P claimed a 26-15 halftime advantage. But Hayes Center outscored the Broncos 29-14 in the second half.
"We came out very flat in the first half and allowed Wa-Pa to take advantage of the game," said Hayes Center head coach Louis Cuellar. "We refocused at halftime and put together a good second half and the boys did a nice job of making plays down the stretch.
"The true character of these young men is just unbelievable and they keep impressing me every game."
Michael Bishop had a strong game for the Cardinals with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 3 steals. Tristan Johnson added 10 points for the winners, and Seth Gohl grabbed 9 rebounds and recorded a team-high 5 assists. Wauneta-Palisade was led by Logan Bischoff with 19 points and Hayden Pollman with 12.