It was a relatively light schedule on the court for area teams as several games were cancelled due to Covid issues,
Granada was slated to play at Springfield on Thursday, Jan. 13 but that game was axed.
McClave was set to host Kim/Branson on Saturday, Jan. 15 but that game was also scratched.
The Wiley Lady Panthers saw their first action of the new year and dropped two tough games against Kit Carson and South Baca.
A sluggish start on offense in the first half proved to be the difference in a 39-32 loss to No. 10 state-ranked Kit Carson in a High Plains League contest on Friday, Jan. 14 at Kit Carson.
“Underclassmen had to step up for us with one senior being sick and another in foul trouble for most of the game,” said Wiley head coach Nick O’Loughlin. “I was very proud to see how our girls all stepped up and worked together.”
Wiley was held to just a total of eight points in the first half.
Kit Carson took an 11-4 lead after the first quarter but had just four points in the second quarter to hold a 15-8 lead at halftime.
In the second half, both teams played on even terms and scored an identical 24 points apiece.
Wiley outscored Kit Carson, 15-13, in the third quarter while the Lady Wildcats outpointed the Lady Panthers, 11-9, in the fourth.
Grace Pendleton finished with 11 points for the Lady Panthers including 9 in the second half.
Lupita Marquez chipped in with 8 points including 2 points in the third and 6 in the fourth.
Jackie Salgado added 7 points including 5 in the third quarter. Grace White had 4 points.
Faye Buttry paced Kit Carson with a game-high 17 points.
After scoring a three-point field goal in the first quarter, Buttry caught fire and tallied 9 points in the third quarter on two 3’s and 3-of-4 free throws. She finished with 5 points in the fourth quarter on a two-point field goal and 3-of-6 charity tosses.
Tess Johnson and Payge Booker-Rady both scored 7 points apiece. Lindey Mayhan followed with 4 points and Kenzie Waggoner and Nadaya Buttry both had 2 points each.
Johnson paced Kit Carson under the boards with 10 rebounds.
The loss dropped Wiley to 0-1 in league play and 3-4 overall. Kit Carson improved to 1-1 in league play and 5-3 overall.
Wiley hosted the South Baca Lady Patriots in a non-league contest on Saturday.
In a battle to the end, South Baca escaped with a 39-38 victory.
South Baca took an 11-10 lead after the first quarter before Wiley battled back to grab a 19-17 lead at halftime.
In the third quarter, South Baca came out on fire to outscore the Lady Panthers, 18-4, to go ahead 35-23 lead.
“We had several unforced turnovers in the third quarter that put us behind by 12 points going into the fourth,” said O’Loughlin.
Wiley responded on both ends of the court in the fourth quarter.
On offense, the Lady Panthers scored 15 points and held South Baca to just 4 points.
Two free throws by South Baca late in the game propelled the Lady Patriots to the win.
“Grace White stepped up on defense and also offensively in the fourth quarter,” lauded O’Loughlin. “She hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 37-all with less than a minute left.”
“We had a foul that was not needed away from the basket and South Baca made two free throws,” he explained. “We got fouled with 0.7 seconds left but made just one of two free throws and end up losing by two.”
Grace White paced Wiley with 11 points including 9 in the fourth quarter.
Grace Pendleton and Fatima Gomez both finished with 7 points apiece. Jackie Salgado followed with 4 points while Demi Wollert, Claire Pendleton, Lupita Marquez, and Johanna Brown all had 2 points each. Wayttyn Wollert had 1 point.
For South Baca, Jadyn Patrick tallied a game-high 16 points including three 3’s. Jamie Quick also tallied in double figures with 13 points.
“We are still working towards putting together four quarters of basketball and figuring out our abilities on the offensive end,” said O’Loughlin.
This week, Wiley faces a tough test when they travel to face No. 9 state-ranked Cheyenne Wells in league action on Friday, Jan. 21.
The Lady Tigers (1-0 and 7-1) are riding a seven-game winning streak.
The No. 4 state-ranked McClave Lady Cardinals return to the court with a league game at Eads on Friday, Jan. 21.
Then on Saturday, the Lady Cardinals pay a visit to Springfield in a rematch of two teams who played for the championship in the Lamar Holiday Tournament held in mid-December.
McClave won that contest 54-29 to hand the Lady Longhorns their first loss after five straight wins at that time.
The Lady Cardinals will put a seven-game winning streak on the line in the rematch.
The High Plains League standings going into this week are as follows:
McClave (1-0; 7-1); Cheyenne Wells (1-0; 7-1); Granada (1-0; 3-5); Kit Carson (1-1; 6-3); Cheraw (0-1; 5-4); Wiley (0-1; 4-4) and Eads (0-1; 2-7).
THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE
Friday, Jan. 21
Stratton at Kit Carson, 4:00
Granada at Cheraw, 4;00
McClave at Eads, 4:00
Wiley at Cheyenne Wells, 4:00
Saturday, Jan. 22
Idalia at Eads, 1:00
McClave at Springfield, 2:00
Walsh at Wiley, 3:00
South Baca at Granada, 4:00
Cheyenne Wells at Kiowa, 1:00
