Arapahoe girls grab first victory at Cattle Trail
MCCOOK - After opening the season with a pair of top ten opponents, the Arapahoe girls basketball team battled back from a large deficit, but came up short Friday night in their quest for the first victory of the year.
Saturday, the Warriors punched through.
After a 59-30 loss to eventual-champion MaywoodHayes Center in the first round of the Cattle Trail Tournament, the Warriors dropped a consolation-round game with Southwest, 50-42, Friday. But Arapahoe bounced back with a 59-33 victory over Hitchcock County on Saturday, their first of the year to improve to 1-3 this season.
The Wolves made offense tough to come by in the tournament opener as Arapahoe had 41 turnovers and shot just 29 percent from the field.
Still, the Warriors’ defense held the Wolves in check for a while, too, as MHC led just 20-lo at the break before blowing the game open with 39 points in the second half.
Hope Koller and Gentry Warner each scored seven points for Arapahoe and Tracy Roskop added six more while Hilary Downey scored five.
Roskop and Koller each had 10 rebounds and Emerson Swanson had five of the team’s 10 steals.
Friday, a rough first half offensively put the Warriors in a 14-point hole early in the third quarter against Southwest, but Arapahoe battled back.
The Warriors chipped away at the lead and pulled within one possession in the fourth quarter, but the Roughriders made the plays down the stretch and hit enough free throws late to close out an eight-point victory.
Swanson led a balanced attack with io points and Downey and Marissah Nordine each scored nine. Downey just missed a double-double, pulling down 11 rebounds. Roskop and Koller each scored five and collected six boards. Roskop and Berkley Warner each had three assists and Swanson had two.
Saturday, the Warriors held control of the Hitchcock County Falcons throughout the first half, then dominated the second half to roll away to a 59-33 win.
Arapahoe held a modest 11-9 lead after a quarter, then pushed it out to 28-19 at the half. The Warriors then rolled after the break, outscoring the Falcons 31-14 over the final two quarters for the victory.
Four players scored in double-figures, led by Roskop, Nordine and Koller, who each scored 12, and Downey, who added 10. Downey and Koller each grabbed 10 rebounds to collect double-doubles. Gentry Warner added eight boards and Roskop had seven. Berkley Warner had four assists and Nordine and Swanson each had two steals.
Arapahoe takes some momentum into a pair of games this week, a home contest Thursday with Wilcox-Hildreth and a trip to Southwest on Friday.
