ELLIS- It was girls action that took center stage on the Thursday edition of the Ellis 2A Sub-State. The evening began with the Trego Golden Eagles, the top seed and one of the best teams in the state, taking on the the 5-seed Republic County Buffaloes.
Things were tight through the first quarter and the score reflected that hard play, with the Golden Eagles leading by a single bucket at the end of the first, 11-9.
Trego was able to wear down the Buffaloes, en-route to a 27-17 lead. Senior Libby Frost scored 7 of her 9 first half points in the second quarter.
The third quarter saw a wide point swing. The Golden Eagles built a 14 point lead, only to see it reduced to 8. Trego had built the lead back to 39-28 heading into the final frame.
The Buffaloes slowly crawled back into the game throughout the third quarter. With just a kiss over 2 minutes left, the Buffaloes trailed by only 5. However, a missed 3-pointer and a turnover cost the Buffaloes dearly, and the Golden Eagles fought off an upset bid for a 46-39 win.
Libby Frost finished with 17 points an 5 rebounds for the Golden Eagles. Senior Alexis Hansen finished her Buffalo career with a bang, pouring in 21 points and snagging 5 boards.
The Buffaloes finish their season with a record of 12-11. They'll also say good-bye to 9 quality senior players.
Trego is on to the championship game Saturday, where they'll try to reach state for a second straight year. The Golden Eagles are currently 21-1 on the year.
The second game of the evening featured the Ellis Railers and the Oakley Lady Plainsmen. Ellis had reached the semifinals as a 6 seed after an upset of the 3 seed Hoxie Indians.
The Ellis Railers jumped out to an early lead 8-3. However, the next 6 points belonged to Oakley, helping them to build a 9-8 lead after a quarter.
Oakley used a 10-1 second quarter run to extend the lead to 19-9. However, the Railers were able to salvage the last 3 points of the half to make it 19-12 at the half. Jordyn Lowrie, Oakely's star forward, exited the game halfway through the second quarter with what seemed to be a jaw injury. She wouldn't return in the first half, but started the second half.
The third quarter was essentially a wash. Ellis trimmed the lead to as little as 4, but a big and-1 by Liberty Booker pushed the lead back to 7 before the end of the quarter. Oakley led 29-22 heading into the final quarter.
The Railers put up a good fight in the final frame, but could never close the gap, as they fell 45-32.
Jordyn Lowrie finished with 13 points and 6 boards despite sitting a good portion of the game with injury and foul trouble. Liberty Booker chipped in 10 points and 6 rebounds.
Grace Eck had 12 points for Ellis, Rylee Werth had 11. The Railers finish the year at 10-11.
Oakley moves to 17-5, they will play Trego Saturday for the sub-state championship and the right to advance to state in Manhattan.