Scott City girls to play in tournament final, boys in 3rd place game
Sterling, Kan. (westernkansasnes.com)–On semi-final Thursday in Sterling, the Scott City Beavers looked to win and get in Friday’s championship games. The Lady Beavers faced Lyons, while the boys would take on the top team in Class 3A in SE of Saline. It would be a split for the Beavers, as the girls used an 11-0 fourth quarter run to take a 50-38 victory, while the boys fell to the Trojans 72-48.
Scott City Girls 50, Lyons 38
It took awhile, but Scott City would pull away in the fourth quarter. Lyons led for a majority of the first half, as they led 13-11 after the opening frame, and 18-13, before the Lady Beavers scored the final six points to take a 19-18 lead at the break. Scott City (6-5) led 21-19 in the first minute of the second half, before the Lady Lions went on an 8-0 run for their largest lead of the game at 27-12 with 6:12 left in the third period. Out of a timeout, the Lady Beavers went to work, going on a 14-3 run over the final 5:40 of the first half to build a 36-30 lead heading into the fourth quarter. They used a pair of 5-0 runs in that stretch. Lyons (5-6) scored four quick points to begin the fourth quarter to get to within 36-34, but an 11-0 run, all from Erika Felker, pushed the Scott City lead to 47-34 with 3:24 left. Lyons got it to within 47-38 with 1:28 left, but the Lady Beavers hit three free throws down the stretch to advance to Fridays final.
Erika Felker, who made a tournament-record 20 free throws on Monday, did not attempt a free throw, but went 6-10 on three’s and had a game-high 26 points, tying her for the eighth-most points in a tournament game, and just one off of her 27 points on Monday. She also grabbed 12 rebounds. Brooke Strine had her third double-double of the year with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Lyons was led by Caitlyn Belote with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Neveah Boyd had 11 points.
This was the first meeting between Scott City and Lyons on the girls side. It’s the first tournament championship appearance in Sterling, and the first midseason tournament final since winning the Orange & Black in Colby in 2020.
Scott City 11 8 17 14–50
Lyons 13 5 12 8–38
Scott City: Stevens 0 0-0 0; Gentry 2 1-2 5; Strine 3 5-5 11; Felker 10 0-0 26; Metzger 1 0-0 2; Lewis 1 0-0 2; Cramer 2 0-0 4; Team: 19 6-7 50
Lyons: Elliott 0 0-0 0; Fierro 1 0-0 2; Ramierz 3 3-5 9; Boyd 4 1-5 11; Vargas 0 0-0 0; Belote 5 2-4 14; Carrera 1 0-1 2; Schloemer 0 0-0 0; Team: 14 6-15 38
Three-Pointers: Scott City 6 (Felker 6), Lyons 4 (Boyd 2, Belote 2); Rebounds: Scott City 46, Lyons 25; Turnovers: Scott City 18, Lyons 15; Fouls: Scott City 12, Lyons 11; Fouled Out: None.
Southeast of Saline Boys 72, Scott City 48
Scott City knew they would be in for a big task, facing the top team in Class 3A in Southeast of Saline. The Trojans would jump out early and never look back. It was 19-9 Southeast of Saline after the first quarter. The Beavers tried to rally, but every run they had, the Trojans countered. Scott City (6-5) trailed 37-21 at the break. When they got it down to 14 in the third quarter, they had a chance to cut into the deficit, but four consecutive turnovers did them in, and an 8-2 Southeast of Saline (10-0) squashed the run, as they led 52-29 with 2:20 left in the third frame. The Beavers had another run in them, scoring nine straight late in the third and into the fourth to get to 54-40 with 7:42 left. Southeast was able to slowly grow their lead again, and closed the game out on a 7-2 run to make the final 72-48.
Southeast of Saline was led by Eli Sawyers with 26 points, while Nakari Morrical-Palmer added 19 points and Drake Augustine added 12. Dylan Metzger led Scott City with 18 points, while Jackson Rumford had his fourth double-double of the year with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
It was the second meeting all-time between the schools. The Trojans won the first meeting two years ago in the fifth place game of the Sterling Invitational. This will be the highest finish for Scott City in their third Sterling Invitational.
Scott City 9 12 17 10–48
SE of Saline 19 18 17 18–72
Scott City: Duff 0 0-0 0; Metzger 6 5-6 18; Noll 1 0-2 3; Tarango 2 0-1 4; Vulgamore 0 0-0 0; B. Bailey 0 0-0 0; Rumford 5 5-6 15; Ruelas 0 0-0 0; L. Bailey 3 2-4 8; Vance 0 0-0 0; Stoecklein 0 0-0 0; Tam: 17 12-19 48
Three-Pointers: Scott City 2 (Metzger 1, Noll 1), SE of Saline 3 (Sawyers 1, Morrical-Palmer 1, Lilley 1); Rebounds: Scott City 26, SE of Saline 28; Turnovers: Scott City 24, SE of Saline 8; Fouls: Scott City 7, SE of Saline 14; Fouled Out: Scott City (Noll).
Coach Brian Gentry Postgame
Scott City boys will play for third place inside Sterling College’s Gleason Center at 4:30 against Sterling. Hugoton knocked off the Black Bears 67-60 to advance to the championship game. The Lady Beavers will take on GWAC foe Hugoton, who took out Southeast of Saline 50-39. That game will be played at 6 pm at the Gleason Center.
