Goessel girls race to victory; others struggle

By NICHOLAS KIMBALL, ROWENA PLETT, and DELBERT PETERS

Staff writers

The Goessel girls’ defense stepped up in a big way Friday against Solomon, capturing 22 steals for the game. The Bluebirds scored 20 points before the Gorillas got on the board.

In the second quarter, the Bluebirds removed full-court pressure but still regularly intercepted lazy passes and rebounded well to lead 27-7 at half time.

“We played well in the first quarter and then things got a little sloppy,” coach Ryan Hoopes said. “We have no size, so we have to depend on our quickness.”

Cheyenne Sawyer and Abbigail Funk finished the third quarter with several lay-ups, and Goessel led 45-13 with a running clock in the fourth quarter, the Bluebirds still managed to outscore their opponent, 13-3. Goessel won by a final score of 58-16.

Sawyer led all scorers with 24 points, Abbigail Funk banked 11 points, and Aimee Funk finished with 8.

Goessel girls have a 3-0 record in league games and are 5-2 overall. Two tough league games loom on the schedule for next week with Little River and Canton-Galva.

Marion down a player

Marion was unable to overcome being on the road Friday against Moundridge, losing 52-39 loss.

The Warriors started off strong, taking care of the basketball and knocking down shots early, but losing Grace Hett because of injury took its toll. Still, the team tried to respond.

“Losing Grace in the second half caused us to have to look to others to step up and handle, and I was proud of our response,”

“This group is competing and improving and they play hard. We are heading in the right direction.”

Marion contained Moundridge’s big forcing her into tough shots with good defense.

“We have two home games this next week against a good Remington and Inman team, but this group has been up to the challenge of competing and I know they will be,” Hett said.

Centre struggles

Centre’s girls continued to struggle Friday, losing to Wakefield, 45-26, a one-point improvement over their loss to the Bombers in the first game of the season.

Olivia Carlson scored 15 points, and Hailey Barton scored seven.

“It was a 10-point game at the beginning of the fourth,” coach Alan Stahlecker said. “We tried to pressure them, but it didn’t work, and we finished with a 19-point loss. We struggled, but we are improving.”

Peabody-Burns bruised

Warriors lost their road conference game against Little River Friday by a score of 95-4. The Warriors scored all of their points in the final quarter.

Junior Aubrey Olander lead her Redskins team with 18 points. Both Alaina Eck and Lucy Wright scored 14 points each.

Peabody-Burns will be at home this week against Elyria Christian and Wakefield.

Hillsboro ranked 5th

Hillsboro’s girls, ranked fifth in the state in class 2A this week, did not play last week.