Lady Cowboys Get It Done On Senior Night

Last Friday night the Lady Cowboys celebrated their senior players when, along with the boys team, they hosted a double header taking on American Heritage.  Not only were the Lady Cowboys looking to send their seniors out on a win but the game was also crucial to seeding the upcoming district tournament.  When it all shook out the Lady Cowboys earned the victory and locked up the eighth seed in the tournament which meant they would get to host the play-in game.  Here is how Friday night’s game unfolded.

The first quarter started just as competitive as it was expected to be between the evenly matched teams.  The Lady Cowboys and Lady Patriots traded blows scoring back and forth with each team getting plenty of opportunities to score from both the floor and the foul line.  As the opening quarter wrapped up the Lady Patriots were able to hit just enough of their foul shots to grab a one point lead over the Lady Cowboys.  In the second quarter the momentum of the game came to a grinding halt.  Not only did the scoring slow way down but there was a substantial delay in play due to one of the Patriot players getting a cut on her hand and blood on the floor.  It took some time to find and clean all of the blood from the playing surface but once it was done the game got back underway.  As play resumed the scoring was still few and far between however the Lady Cowboys did enough to grab the lead and head to the locker room up four points.  The Lady Cowboys kept things rolling in the third and increased the four point lead to seven.  In the fourth quarter the Lady Cowboys had to rely on foul shooting to hold off the Lady Patriots.  North Gem went to the line for twenty foul shots in the fourth quarter alone.  Although their percentage wasn’t high they made enough to secure the win and earn a home play-in game.  All three senior girls on the team were able to help add to the final score helping earn the win and making great senior night memories.

After all games were finished over the weekend the Lady Cowboys learned that they would host the very same team that they had just defeated for the opening play-in game of the district tournament.  Unfortunately the way district games always seem to play out, that game will have already taken place when this article comes out.  That being said we will have a full recap of the game and any others that the Lady Cowboys may have been involved in in next week’s edition.  The play-in game was played on Tuesday night at 5:30 in Bancroft.

The North Gem boys basketball team also squared off against the Patriots in game two of the double header last Friday night.  After a bit of a slow start the Cowboys were able to end the first quarter with a one point lead.  In the second quarter North Gem hit a wall as they struggled to get many shots to fall.  The Cowboys would end the quarter with just five total points that came from a pair of underclassmen in Jeremiah Perry and Clay Johnson.  As a result the Cowboys found themselves trailing by a dozen going into the locker room at halftime.  Coming out of the break the Cowboys looked rejuvenated.  North Gem was able to spread the scoring around in the third quarter putting up nineteen points and cutting the Patriot lead to just two points.  In the fourth quarter the Cowboys would put up good numbers again adding sixteen more points to their total.  Unfortunately North Gem sent the Patriots to the charity stripe eighteen times.  Like the Lady Cowboys in the first game of the night the Patriots were able to find enough success at  the line to secure the win.  The Cowboys put up a valiant effort in this game but ultimately fell by just four points.  The Cowboys will wrap up their regular season this week with home games against Grace Lutheran on Wednesday and Alturas Prep on Friday.  At Friday’s game North Gem will honor their senior boys basketball players and cheerleaders.

Lady Cowboys 10 6 13 15 44

Lady Patriots 11 1 10 11 33

M. Rindlisbaker 3, S. Daniels 1, O. Rindlisbaker 6, M. O’Brien 6, S. Thompson 2, D. Frandsen 7, M. Barnes 3, K. Olenslager 3, C. Hatch 13

Cowboys 9 5 19 16 49

Patriots 8 18 10 17 53

C. Johnson 3, W. Wakley 10, J. Perry 14, P. Hill 2, C. Yost 20