Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Alex Reader shows off her jump shot in a game against the Potter-Dix Coyotes earlier this season. Reader was high scorer for the Lady Horns this past week with 13 against Hershey and 14 against Bayard by halftime.
The win-loss weekend for the Kimball High Lady Longhorns came with a 49-30 loss at Hershey Friday night, and a 56-47 win at Bayard on Saturday. The Kimball girls will take a 4-2 record into the Christmas Break.
Not a good night for the Kimball ladies at Hershey according to coach Chauncey Pedersen. "We didn't handle the ball well and had trouble breaking their press. We started sluggish, got behind, and never caught up. At times we played right with them. We had too many turnovers and we did not shoot good at the foul line. We are still trying to find ourselves after losing Kate (Reader) (for the season injury)."
Coach Pedersen praised the play of sophomore Jenna Greenwood who was 3/5 from the field and 4/5 at the foul line for 10 points and pulled four rebounds. Alex Reader was high for Kimball with 13 points with two treys, had three rebounds and three steals. Carli Wurdeman had three with one trey, and three rebounds. Sydney Biesecker had three points and a team high five rebounds and Justine Heeg had one point. Kimball shot only 24 percent from the field and were 9/17 at the line for 53 percent. They pulled 23 rebounds, had seven steals, eight assists, 18 fouls and 30 turnovers.
Kimball 2 8 5 14 -- 30
Hershey 13 8 16 12 -- 49
Senior Alex Reader got Kimball off to a good start at Bayard scoring 11 first quarter points as the two clubs battled even with Kimball holding a mere one point lead of 17-16 at the quarter break. Her long trey that beat the buzzer provided the slim lead. The talented senior leader scored three more points in the second period before having to leave the game with her knee injury from last year causing her too much pain and discomfort to continue. Jenna Greenwood scored from inside to give Kimball a late basket as time expired in the first half with the Lady Horns still on top 27-26.
Madison Wynne hit a fifteen footer to start the second half play, but the hosting Lady Tigers took a 35-31 lead before Lacey Klinkhammer went 4 for 4 at the line and hit a 16 foot fielder to put Kimball back on top 38-35 after three quarters of play.
The Kimball ladies found a way to win down the stretch with lots of girls stepping up. Hannah Biesecker, who led Kimball scoring with 17 points, scored seven points in the final period going 4 for 4 at the line before fouling out with 1:20 left. She had one trey on the night and was eight of nine at the foul line along with six rebounds. Jenna Greenwood scored six of her eight points in the fourth period, including a pair of full court drives to the basket and nailed the final two points of the contest at the foul line to secure the win. Carli Wurdeman ended up with five points and scored late on a well designed inbounds play. Klinkhammer had six points and five rebounds, Sydney Biesecker hit a key trey and had three points along with seven rebounds, Wynne had two points and Justine Heeg one along with six rebounds.
Kimball played strong on the boards againts Bayard finishing with 41 rebounds, along with six steals, 10 turnovers, and 22 fouls.
Bayard had 19 fouls, were 14/32 at the foul line, and hit three treys. Scoring for the Lady Tigers were Lizabeth Marker with 13, Kylie Stewart 12, Jessica Whitebear five, Sierra Sauer seven, Avery Kildow four, Grace Burry three, Shaley Peterson two, and Balee Lake one.
Commenting on the win at Bayard, coach Pedersen said "We are still not where we want to be defensively. After Alex went out, the girls stepped up and found a way to win. Hannah (Biesecker) hit some crucial free throws and had a good game. Jenna (Greenwood) came through with some key plays again. We need to work on our defense, and we will," he said. Pedersen said he feels confident that Alex Reader, Samantha Bemis, Kaylyn Nelson will all be back from their injuries following the break, but junior Sheridan Magninie is still question mark with her back injury. Following the Christmas break and the NSAA Moratorium which begins Dec. 23 and runs through the 27, the Kimball girls will return to practice and will go up against Sidney on Jan. 4.
Kimball 17 10 11 18 -- 56
Bayard 16 10 9 12 -- 47