Wauneta-Palisade girls take second at tourney

    The Wauneta-Palisade girls’ basketball team fell short in its bid to claim the Cattle Trail Tournament championship last week.
    The Broncos opened play with a 53-31 win over Hitchcock County.
    WP’s defense stepped up in the first quarter, holding the Falcons to two points. Four Broncos scored as WP grabbed a 12-2 lead.
    GraCee goings made two three pointers in the second quarter as the Broncos’ lead grew to 26-10.
    WP’s best offensive quarter came after halftime. Chloe Stehno, Peyton Cox and Goings each scored at least five points, helping the Broncos put 18 points on the board.
    Alexa Sandman, Halle Bardsley and P. Cox added fourth quarter field goals in the win.
    Goings and P. Cox each scored 15 points for the Broncos. P. Cox snagged 18 rebounds.
Semis win over Arapahoe
    Five Broncos scored in the first quarter of WP’s semifinal win over Arapahoe, including Goings and Cali Cox with three pointers.
    Holding a 15-10 edge, the Broncos continued to pull ahead in the second quarter.
    Stehno, Sandman, C. Cox and P. Cox each poured in field goals and the Broncos combined to make 5-6 from the charity stripe.
    The Broncos extended their  30-21 halftime lead in the second half.
    P. Cox scored six points, C. Cox five and Stehno four in the third quarter.
    P. Cox continued to do work in the paint as the game wore on.
    The sophomore made four field goals in the fourth quarter on her way to a team high 22 points and 16 rebounds.
    C. Cox also finished in double figures with 14 points. Stehno and Sandman each scored nine points in the 59-46 win.
Championship against MHC
    The Broncos came out on fire against Maywood/Hayes Center in the championship game.
    After a basket by Sandman, C. Cox hit back-to-back three pointers for the Broncos.
    Two free throws by P. Cox, were followed by eight straight points by Stehno.
    By the time the smoke had cleared on the first quarter, P. Cox had added another basket and the Broncos led 20-8.
    WP increased its lead going into halftime.
    Sandman opened WP’s scoring in the second quarter with a three pointer. C. Cox followed a P. Cox basket with a three pointer. Stehno made baskets around a Sandman free throw before P. Cox scored three points in a row.
     C. Cox rounded out WP’s scoring with two free throws and the Broncos took a 38-22 lead into halftime.
    The Broncos’ offense struggled in the second half. P. Cox scored all five third quarter points for WP as MHC closed the gap to 43-32.
    The Wolves Olivia Hansen took over in the fourth quarter, scoring 16 points to lead the MHC comeback. Kiley Hejtmanek and Stevie Handsaker contributed just enough for MHC to sneak out the win.
    WP only made two field goals in the fourth quarter, one each from P. Cox and Stehno.
    The Broncos combined to make 4-8 free throws over the game’s final eight minutes and came up on the short on the scoreboard, falling 51-56.
    Stehno and P. Cox each scored 16 points. The pair each had double-doubles. P. Cox pulled down 17 rebounds and Stehno had 13 boards.
    Stehno rounded out a nice night with five steals.
Up next
    South Platte (3-1) will be in Wauneta Friday for a game with the Broncos. Saturday WP will travel to Sandhills Valley (0-3). On Dec. 21 WP will host DCS (0-5).