Holcomb and Colby girls end state tournament droughts with sub-state championship wins

Scott City, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–Saturday saw two sub-state games on the girls side take shape inside the Scott Community Events Center, as the first game of the day saw Holcomb take on Beloit, while Colby and Goodland would meet up for a fourth time this year. The two winners would break their long drought of not making it to the state tournament, as the Holcomb Lady Longhorns would defeat the Beloit Lady Trojans 56-35, while the Colby Lady Eagles were able to defeat Goodland 35-24.

Holcomb 56, Beloit 35
After the Lady Trojans led 3-0 after their opening possession, it was all Holcomb. The Lady Longhorns used a 16-2 run in the first quarter, and a 17-0 run in the second to blow the game open, and take a 33-14 lead at the break. Holcomb would hit seven three’s in the first half to build their lead. Beloit would make one run to open the second half. An 8-2 run pulled them to within 35-22 with 3:20 left in the third stanza, only to see the Lady Longhorns end the run with another triple. Holcomb led by 15 after three quarters, and after the teams traded baskets in the fourth period, they scored the next 12 points to lead 55-28 with 2:37 left. The Lady Trojans scored seven of the final eight points and made the final 56-35.

Holcomb was led by Halle Jones with 16 points and Delilah Galliart added 11 points off the bench, as the Lady Longhorns went 13-16 from the free throw line and had 10 turnovers. Beloit got 13 points from Addison Budke, ad they were just 3-16 on free throws and finished with 14 turnovers.

Holcomb improved to 18-5 on the year, qualifying for state for the first time since 2013. They are the 8 seed in the Class 3A State Tournament, and will take on top seed and unbeaten Hesston Wednesday at 6 pm. Beloit ended their season at 13-9.

Box Score
Beloit 7 7 12 9–35
Holcomb 16 17 8 15–56

Beloit (13-9): Bergman 0 0-0 0; Rabe 0 0-0 0; Wright 0 0-2 0; Budke 6 1-4 13; S. Thompson 2 0-0 6; C. Thompson 1 2-8 14; Channel 1 0-0 2; Cheney 3 0-0 6; Porter 0 0-0 0; Litton 1 0-2 2; Pfantz 1 0-0 2; Team: 15 3-16 35
Holcomb (18-5): Magana 2 0-0 6; Ardery 0 0-0 0; D. Galliart 2 6-6 11; VanPelt 0 0-0 0; Wickwar 2 0-0 6; I. Galliart 1 4-4 6; Smith 0 0-0 0; Hill 1 0-0 3; Jones 5 3-4 16; Cervantes 0 0-0 0; Baier 0 0-0 0; Ruda 4 0-2 8; Team: 17 13-16 56

Three-Point Goals: Beloit 2 (C. Thompson 2); Holcomb 9 (Jones 3, Magana 2, Wickwar 2, D. Galliart 1, Hill 1); Turnovers: Beloit 14, Holcomb 10; Fouls: Beloit 21, Holcomb 12; Fouled Out: None.

Colby 35, Goodland 24
It was the fourth and final meeting of the year between the two old rivals. Colby entered with the first three wins of the year. The first half saw three ties and four lead changes. After the teams were tied at nine after the opening frame, the Lady Eagles would score all seven points of the second quarter to lead 16-9 at intermission. Colby would have a four-minute stretch without a point in the second quarter, while the Cowgirls didn’t score. After the Lady Eagles took a 20-9 lead early in the second half, Goodland would end their scoring drought that spand nearly 11 minutes with a three to pull to within 20-12. The Lady Eagle lead would be 10 going into the fourth quarter at 26-16. In the final period, the Cowgirls could not get any closer than seven points, with the last coming at 28-27 with 2:08 left. All of Colby’s points came from the free throw line in the fourth quarter, going 9-14.

Shaylee Holzmeister paced Colby with 14 points, as the Lady Eagles would go 11-20 from the foul line and had 11 turnovers. Goodland was led by Libby Cure and Ally Cure with six points apiece, as they were 3-5 from the free throw line and had eight turnovers.

Colby qualifies for their first state tournament appearance since 2011 and improved to 21-2 on the year. They will be sixth seed, and will take on the third seed Osage City Wednesday at 4 pm. Goodland’s run of three straight state tournament appearances came to an end, as they closed their season out at 16-7.

Box Score
Goodland 9 0 7 8–24
Colby 9 7 10 9–35

Goodland (16-7): Biermann 0 3-4 3; L. Cure 3 0-1 6; Short 0 0-0 0; A. Cure 2 0-0 6; Linton 2 0-0 5; Quain 0 0-0 0; Schick 0 0-0 0; Martin 2 0-0 4; Gabel 0 0-0 0; Team: 9 3-5 24
Colby (21-2): Nolan 1 4-6 7; Holzmeister 6 2-8 14; Cheney 0 0-0 0; Flanagin 4 0-0 9; Barton 0 5-6 5; Stanley 0 0-0 0; Team: 11 11-20 35

Three-Point Goals: Goodland 3 (A. Cure 2, Linton 1), Colby 2 (Nolan 1, Flanagin 1); Turnovers: Goodland 8, Colby 11; Fouls: Goodland 18, Colby 7; Fouled Out: Goodland (Linton).