WP places fifth at Cattle Trail

The Wauneta-Palisade girls basketball team improved to 3-2 on the season with two wins and one loss at last week’s Cattle Trail Tournament.
The tournament didn’t get off to a great start for the Broncos. WP lost to Decatur Community, Kansas 22-31 in the first round Dec. 5.
WP Head Coach Matt Cox said his team just couldn’t get into a rhythm on the offensive end of the floor.
“Give Decatur Community a lot of credit for the way they defended us,” he added.
The Broncos held a 7-6 lead at the end of the first quarter, but they struggled to score in the second. With only a three pointer by GraCee Goings for offense, WP trailed 10-17 at halftime.
WP was able to out score the Red Devils 8-7 in the third quarter, but went cold again in the fourth quarter. The Broncos only scored four points while giving up seven.
“Nothing came easy and they did a great job in transition defense, they kept us off the offensive glass and were overall more physical than us,” Cox said.
Peyton Cox, who made five of the Broncos’ nine field goals, led the way for WP with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Izzy Stehno pulled down double-digit rebounds, finishing the night with 11.
WP made 3-8 free throws in the game and allowed Decatur Community 13 chances with seven makes.
Facing three games in five days, Cox said it makes for a long week when you lose that first round game and struggle on the offensive end of the floor.
The Broncos rebounded by beating 1-3 Dundy County Stratton 45-41 Friday.
WP jumped out to a 19-9 lead in the first quarter and increased it to 30-16 at halftime behind a combined 24 points from Cox and Goings.
Their lead continued to grow with five players scoring in the third quarter and the Broncos took a 42-24 lead into the final quarter.
“We played three quarters of really good basketball. We held them to three quarters of single digit scoring then things came unglued in the fourth quarter,” Cox said.
DCS came alive in the fourth. WP was out scored 3-17, but was able to hang on for the win.
“We got in a hurry on offense, they switched to a man defense and we took some really poor shots. DCS did a good job of controlling the tempo in the fourth quarter,” Cox said.
Cox racked up a double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Goings and Stehno also finished in double figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
The Broncos struggled from the free throw line in the fourth quarter, only making 1-8, and made 11-28 free throws in the game. WP only gave up 12 total free throws to the Tigers.
“We could have made our lives easier, but 1-8 from the free throw line while you’re trying to survive isn’t a real recipe for success,” Cox said.
WP claimed fifth place with a 58-52 win over Arapahoe (2-3) Saturday.
“I thought we did a pretty good job overall after a long week of basketball,” Cox said.
The Broncos controlled the game in the first half, outscoring Arapahoe 15-10 in the first quarter and taking a 33-19 lead into the halftime locker room. Goings hit five threes and scored 17 points in the first half, before finishing the game with 21 points.
The tide turned in the third quarter. WP was outscored 12-20, cutting its lead to 45-39.
“Arapahoe put a good run on in the second half and we did a much better job of keeping our composure than we did on Friday,” Cox said.
Each team scored 13 points over the game’s final eight minutes. Cox scored 18 points in the second half and ended up with 27 in the game.
Stehno led the Broncos with 10 rebounds.
“At times we looked tired, but we played very consistently for four quarters. I’m still not pleased with the amount of late game turnovers and some of our shot selections in the fourth quarter, but anytime you can get through Cattle Trail at 2-1 with some of the youth we’re dealing with, its a pretty good week,” Cox said.
Bronco boys lose three
The WP boys team lost all three games at the Cattle Trail Tournament
 The Broncos lost in the opening round to Dundy County Stratton 12-63 on Tuesday. In its second game, WP lost to Southwest 37-54. The tournament wrapped up Saturday with a 29-46 loss to Decatur Community.
No stats were available.
Up next
WP hosts South Platte Friday then travels to Sandhills Valley Saturday.
As for the girl team, Cox said he’s happy with where the Broncos are at as they get closer to Christmas break.
WP will look to add two wins this week. The South Platte girls are 2-2 and the Sandhills Valley girls are 0-4.
On the boys’ side, both teams are 3-1.