CCS girls season ends at subs

    With a loss to Bridgeport in the C1-12 subdistrict final, the Chase County girls basketball team’s season came to a close.
    The Longhorns advanced to the subdistrict final with a win against Hershey Feb. 14.
    Chase County left little room for doubt in the game. After beating Hershey 57-39 Jan. 28, CCS closed the door early on the Panthers in the postseason.
    Bryn McNair gave Chase County a 7-5 lead with 3:30 left in the first quarter and the Longhorns never gave it up. CCS held a seven point edge, 12-5, with a minute left in the first quarter and expanded it to 16-7 with four B. McNair free throws to start the second quarter.
    Liz Reeves and Olivia Spady built the lead up to 20-12 before B. McNair closed out the half with five straight points, including calmly sinking a three pointer with four seconds left in the half, to give CCS a 25-17 halftime lead.
    B. McNair and Landry McNair carried the Longhorns in the third quarter, scoring all 13 CCS points, while the Chase County defense held the Panthers to just six points total.
    The Longhorns’ 15 point advantage, 38-23 entering the  fourth quarter, stayed steady throughout the rest of the 51-36 win.
    B. McNair scored another nine points to wrap up a 31-point effort. The senior finished up scoring in the game with two free throws to make her a perfect 11-11 from the charity stripe for the night.
    The Longhorns made 15-17 free throws overall.
    CCS held a 34-26 rebounding advantage, led by nine boards from B. McNair and seven each from Spady and L. McNair.
    Bridgeport, up to No. 8 in the all-class ratings and the only unbeaten girls’ team left in the state with a 23-0 record, awaited CCS in the subdistrict final after the Bulldogs beat Chadron 66-30.
    The Longhorns’ offense struggled to find any rhythm in the game. Baskets by B. McNair and Ali McNair were Chase County’s only points of the first quarter.
    Trailing 4-13, CCS stuck with the Bulldogs in the second quarter. Joee Clevenger and Peyton Owens scored, while L. McNair had two offensive rebounds and put-backs. The Longhorns trailed 17-28 at halftime.
    The third quarter left no doubt Bridgeport would be the subdistrict champions.
    Baskets by B. McNair sandwiched points by Reeves and Spady. With only seven points in the quarter, Chase County’s deficit grew to 24-44.

    The Longhorns had their best offensive quarter of the game in the final stanza, but the Bulldogs were with them step for step.
    After a put-back by Spady, B. McNair and L. McNair combined to score Chase County’s final 18 points of the game. The Longhorns’ season came to an end with the 44-65 loss.
    B. McNair led CCS with 24 points and 11 rebounds. L. McNair scored nine points and had seven rebounds.
    Chase County had 20 turnovers and was outscored 9-21 in points off turnovers.
    The Longhorns pulled down 18 offensive rebounds and outscored Bridgeport 19-7 in second chance points.
    The Bulldogs went to the charity stripe 20 times, making 14, while CCS only had seven free throws, making five.