Tigers roll to 9-1 record
Sterling girls fall to Brush, win over Valley
The Sterling Tigers improved their record to 9-1 over last week with wins of Brush, Eaton and Valley.
On Feb. 18, Sterling took control of their rivalr y match against the Beetdiggers in the second quarter. The Tigers finished the first with just a three-point lead, but had extended their advantage to 36-24 by halftime. They continued to outpace Brush through the second half, finishing with a 66-42 victor y.
Saturday, the Tigers were dominant in Eaton, downing the Reds 67-31. Sterling again left the door open in the first, finishing the quarter up 15-12. But the offense caught fire in the second, while the Tigers’ defense clamped down to put Sterling ahead 41-20 by the end of the first half. Sterling held Eaton to single digit scoring in both the third and four th quar ters to secure the win.
The road trip continued Wednesday with a 68-41 win over Valley. This time, the Tigers came out hot, establishing a 22-7 lead in the first quarter, and extending their advantage to 39-17 by the end of the half. They added another 11 points to their lead in the third, before Valley pushed back in the fourth, outscoring Sterling 14-7. But it was too little, too late for the Vikings, and the Tigers brought the win home.
Sterling is slated to host Resurrection Christian (8-2) Friday night.
The Sterling girls split their games last week, falling to Brush 46-36 Feb. 19, but claiming a 36-24 win over Valley Tuesday to keep their record at .500 (5-5).
The Lady Tigers maintained a slight advantage over the Vikings through the first half, finishing the first quar ter up 11-8, and holding a 21-15 lead at the half. Valley was able to outscore the home team 9-6 in the third to make it 27-24 entering the final quar ter. But the Lady Tigers’ defense stepped up to shut out the Vikings, while the of fense put up another nine points to secure the win.
Senior Hailey Fehringer led the way for Sterling with nine points, all coming from 3-pointers.
Sterling was back in action Thursday against a 5-4 Resurrection Christian team; the outcome of that game was not available at press time. They’ll return home Wednesday to play Estes Park.
Caliche boys
The Caliche Buffaloes were 1-2 over the past week with losses to Haxtun and Sedgwick County and a win over Prairie.
The Buf fs were competitive with the Fightin’ Bulldogs on Feb. 19, but got burned by a tough second quarter. The teams finished the first period knotted up at 11 each, then Haxtun pulled away with a 2617 second. Caliche came back from the break to outscore the Fightin’ Bulldogs by eight in the third, but Haxtun fought back in the four th, outscoring the Buf fs 1914 to put the game away at 67-61.
Caliche was unable to keep up with Sedgwick County on Saturday, falling 63-34.
But stellar performances from their senior leaders put the Buffs on top with a 78-68 victory over Prairie on Tuesday. Traevin Jones had a triple double, with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Justin Pollar t led the team in scoring and rebounds, with 30 points and 25 rebounds. Asa Bogie also reached double digits on the scoreboard, putting up 11 points, including three 3-pointers.
The Buf fs will be back in action Friday, traveling to face the 6-4 Merino Rams. They’ll finish up this week with a home match against Akron Saturday.
Caliche Girls
The Caliche Lady Buffaloes’ struggles continued over the past week, as they went 0-3 against Haxtun, Sedgwick County and
Prairie.
A lack of offense plagued the team Friday against Haxtun, as they were held scoreless in the first quar ter and didn’t score more than five points in any of the three remaining quarters, to fall 66-12.
The scoring drought continued Saturday for the Lady Buffs, who fell to Sedgwick County 57-11.
While Caliche lost to Prairie on Tuesday, they were more competitive, scoring 10 in the first quar ter. They were in the game throughout, finishing the first half trailing 24-15, and outscored Prairie 7-4 in the third. The Mustangs were able to hold the Lady Buffs off in the fourth, however, and Caliche fell 38-29.
They will be on the road Friday against a 5-5 Merino Lady Rams team, before hosting Akron on Saturday.
Fleming Boys
The Fleming Wildcats enter this weekend’s action with a 4-4 record after losses to Prairie and Briggsdale.
A 25-point effort from sophomore Braylen Feather wasn’t enough to put Fleming on top against the Mustangs Saturday, as they fell 70-63 at the end of a game that went back and forth.
Monday was another sevenpoint loss for the Wildcats, as they fell 64-57 to the visiting Briggsdale team. After trailing by four at halftime, Fleming was able to take a 45-43 lead after three, but the Falcons came back in the fourth to outscore the Wildcats 21-12 for the win.
Fleming is slated to host Stratton/liber ty (4-7) Friday, then will face Sedgwick County Saturday.
Fleming Girls
Kendyl Kirkwood put up 22 points to lead the Fleming Wildcats to a 56-23 win over Prairie Saturday. She was helped by freshman Madi Serrato, who added 13 points, and junior Whitney Chintala, who contributed 12.
But despite all three again finishing in double figures Monday, the Lady Wildcats were unable to do enough to overcome a late surge from Briggsdale, who claimed the 55-50 win. Fleming held a 41-34 lead headed into the fourth, but the Lady Falcons outscored them 21-9 in the final period.
Fleming is now 4-3 headed into the weekend action with games against Stratton/liberty and Sedgwick County.
Merino Boys
The Merino Rams are 6-4 after last week’s action, which included a 52-32 loss to Limon on Feb. 19, a 79-43 trouncing by Wray on Feb. 20, and a 66-49 win over Wiggins on Tuesday.
The Rams will host Caliche Friday.
Merino Girls
The Lady Rams went 2-1 over the last week, improving their record to 5-5.
On Feb. 19, they fell 51-36 to Limon, but bounced back Saturday for a 54-46 win at home over Wray. Leading the way for the Lady Rams were senior Faith Trenkle, who had 16 points, and junior Taysa Conger, who scored 14 to add to her 15 rebounds.
Trenkle again led Merino in scoring with 11 points in their 5741 win over Wiggins on Tuesday. She was helped by freshman Makenna Sutter and senior Ryann Briggs, who each had 10 points.
Peetz Boys
The Bulldogs entered Thursday’s game against Prairie sitting at 3-6 on the season after winning two in a row this past week.
Peetz downed Nor th Park 59-43 on Feb. 20, then brought home a close 38-36 victory over Weldon Valley Tuesday.
They’ll finish the week in Otis, facing the 2-8 Bulldogs.
Peetz Girls
The Peetz Lady Bulldogs were still searching for a win entering Thursday’s matchup against Prairie.
Their record dropped to 0-9 following losses to North Park (6030) and Weldon Valley (35-22).
They’ll face another winless team in Otis Friday for a shot at victor y.