Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Kimball senior Chantel Malson goes up for two points during the Lady Longhorns' win over Potter-Dix last Tuesday.
Kimball's Lady Longhorn basketball team travelled last Tuesday to take on the Potter-Dix Lady Coyotes in Potter, and quickly broke out to a big lead in the early going.
Both teams had problems getting the ball in the basket in the early going, but for Kimball it was shots not falling through the basket and for Potter-Dix it was an inability to get the ball past half court. The tough Lady Longhorns defense stymied the Lady Coyotes offense early, and then in the final minutes of the first period Kimball went on a scoring run.
A 24-1 first period led to an 18-6 second quarter, giving the Kimball girls an insurmountable 42-7 halftime lead. The Lady Longhorns were able to score from all points of the court, while their defense made good looks for the Lady Coyotes nearly impossible.
The Lady Longhorns cruised through the second half, freely substituting, and came away with a big 57-15 win. Madison Merryfield led the offense for Kimball with 17 points in the win and went 2-for-2 beyond the three point arc. Also contributing to Kimball's nice scoring performance were Julia Winstrom with 9 points, and Katie Heeg and Grace Anderson with 7 apiece.
Bridgeport 86,
Kimball 10
Then came Friday's game against Bridgeport. The Lady Longhorns were in for the same treatment they gave Potter-Dix when they hosted Bridgeport.
The Lady Bulldogs broke out early and rang up 31 points in the first quarter while smothering the Kimball offense and only allowing five points in the period. This continued through the second period, and by halftime Bridgeport had a 59-7 lead en route to an 86-10 win.
Kaitie Heeg led the scoring for Kimball with four points.
Gordon-Rushville 61,
Kimball 44.
Kimball hosted Gordon-Rushville on Saturday and again got off to a slow start when the Lady Mustangs opened with a 19-4 first quarter. Kimball battled back and did better offensively in the second quarter, but were unable to stop the Gordon-Rushville scoring and trailed 34-16 at the half.
The teams traded scores through most of the second half, but it wasn't nearly enough to cut the deficit and Kimball fell by a final score of 61-44.
Chantel Malson lead the scoring for Kimball with 12 points in the loss.
Kimball's record moved to 4-7 on the year, and they were scheduled to start the SPVA tournament on Monday.
SPVA Tournament
Kimball lost Monday's home conference tournament game against Chase County by a score of 55-21. Seniors Amy Birkhofer and Maddison Merryfield each scored 6 points to lead the Lady Longhorns.
Next up for Kimball, now 4-8 on the season, is Sutherland in the district tournament at 5 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 20, and a Saturday tournament game against an opponent to be determined.