Goessel girls win thriller
Contributing writer
Goessel High School girls’ basketball coach Ryan Hoopes has 11 girls who contribute in varsity games this year. They started the Wheat State League schedule strong on Dec. 18, winning a thriller against Hope in Goessel.
“I can trust any one of these girls to go into a game,” Hoopes said. “Our practices are very competitive. The freshman girls have not taken the place of the seniors, because the competition has caused the seniors to become even stronger players.”
Goessel jumped out to a 10-3 lead by the end of the first quarter in the final home game before the Christmas break. Several stops on defense led to some easy baskets. The Bluebirds added 9 points in the first 4 minutes of the second period, but the scoring stopped for the last 3 minutes of the quarter and Hope got only as close as 19-9 at halftime.
The Lions made a move to get back into the game as the second half started. Goessel led by 10 points several times, but with less than 2 minutes to play in the quarter, Bluebird fans became nervous as the lead dwindled. The third quarter ended with the home team up by 6 points, 25-19. Hope instituted a full-court press, but Goessel breezed down the court repeatedly. Alex Hiebert stayed just outside the lane for an easy assist and Jessica Harvey slashed into the lane for a layup or foul.
Goessel dominated the fourth period, building a 15-point lead and winning by a final score of 43-30.
Jessica Harvey led the Bluebird scorers with 12 points, 6 coming from the free-throw line. Alex Hiebert dropped in 11 points, and Johanna Hoffman hit 8.
Page Hiebert scored 6 to go along with 6 rebounds, and Erin Brubaker, Alicen Meysing, and Aleena Cook scored 2 points each.
The Goessel girls move to 4-2 overall and 2-0 in the Wheat State League. They open January action on Jan. 4 with a home game against Solomon, and then will be on the road for the rest of the month.