ELLINWOOD GIRLS 35, CENTRAL PLAINS 22 (1ST) — Ellinwood's girls held off Central Plains 35-22 for the Central Prairie League championship in an old-fashioned ball-possession ballgame.
Julia Schlessiger led Ellinwood (20-1) with 12 hard-earned points. Ayla Ritchie and Alyvia Batchman added six apiece.
Oiler Aevyn Siemsen scored 12 points, and the Eagles shut out her high-scoring sister Emery Siemsen.
Ellinwood basketball coach Greg Maxwell was pleased to earn a victory against legendary Oiler coach Pat Stiles.
"Central Plains made us work for it like we knew they would," Maxwell said. "I was proud of how our girls handled the situation. They took advantage of the opportunities presented to them. We're proud to be CPL champions. We want to use this success to build momentum headed into postseason."
Maxwell said the Eagles' primary regular-season goals were to sweep the Central Prairie regular and tournament titles.
"After sharing a regular season title, our goal was to win it outright in both the regular season and in the tournament," Maxwell said.
Central Plains 4 6 8 4 — 22
Ellinwood 6 9 12 8 — 35
CENTRAL PLAINS (13-7)—Aevyn Siemsen 5 (2) 0-0 12; Hekele 2 0-0 4; Izzy Hurley (1) 0-0 3; Lilly Hurley 0 2-2 2; Nixon 0 1-2 1; Totals 8 (3) 3-4 22
ELLINWOOD (20-1)—Schlessiger 5 2-6 12; Ritchie 2 2-5 6; Batchman 2 2-3 6; Brynn Widener 2 1-2 5; Maxwell 1 0-0 2; Reese Stickney 1 0-0 2; Panning 1 0-0 2; Totals 14 7-16 35
LA CROSSE GIRLS 40, ST. JOHN 28 (3RD) — The La Crosse girls (11-9) avenged a 54-38 setback to St. John with a 40-28 victory over the Tigers for third place in the Central Prairie League tournament.
La Crosse's Madison Morgan and Clara Thielenhaus each scored 12 points. The Leopards outscored the Tigers 21-6 after halftime.
St. John's Gentri Bright was effective with 15 points and four 3-pointers. But the Tigers' offense shut down with zero field goals in the final 10 minutes.
La Crosse 13 6 15 6 — 40
St. John 11 11 5 1— 28
LA CROSSE (11-9)—Morgan 4-12 (3-9) 1-2 12; Thielenhaus 6-8 (0-1) 0-2 12; Kortny Shull 0-1 0-0 0; Kynli Shull 2-2 0-0 4; Hammeke (0-6) 0-0 0; Dellett 2-3 0-0 4; Marvin 3-7 2-4 8; Totals 17-39 (3-16) 40
ST. JOHN (12-9)— Gentri Bright 5 (4) 1-1 15; Brummer 2 0-0 4; Jayln Fisher 1 1-2 3; Peterson 1 1-2 3; Rockenbach (1) 0-0 3; Totals 10 (5) 3-4 28; Totals 28
MACKSVILLE 51, OTIS-BISON 22 (7TH) — Macksville's Daniela Reyes (17), Heidy Ortiz (13) and Ava Chadd (12) scored in double figures for a 51-22 seventh-place win over Otis-Bison in the Central Prairie League tournament.
Otis-Bison's Grace Smith and Ava Smith each scored six points.
Macksville 15 15 16 5 — 51
Otis-Bison 10 1 3 8 — 22
MACKSVILLE (8-14)—Reyes 8 1-5 17; Ortiz 5 (1) 2-2 13; Ava Chadd 5 2-2 12; Burr 2 0-0 4; Keenan 1 0-0 2; Hernandez 1 0-0 2; Foster 0 1-2 1; Totals 22 (1) 6-11 51
OTIS-BISON (6-13)—Grace Smith 3 0-0 6; Ava Smith 3 0-1 6; Ficken 1 2-2 4; Schwindt 1 1-3 2; Holman 1 0-0 2; Juno 0 1-2 1; Totals 9 4-10 22
CPL GIRLS
1ST—Ellinwood 35, Central Plains 22; 3RD—Victoria 40, St. John 28; 5TH—Victoria 50, Kinsley 27; 7TH—Macksville 49, Otis-Bison 22
SECOND ROUND—Ellinwood 47, La Crosse 40; Central Plains 42, St. John 22; Kinsley 43, Macksville 37; Victoria 50, Otis-Bison 31; FIRST ROUND—Ellinwood 71, Macksville 15; Central Plains 50, Victoria 26; St. John 53, Otis-Bison 19; La Crosse 47, Kinsley 36; PLAY-IN GAMES—Macksville 47, Ness City 20; Victoria 2, Chase 0
