Below are the coaches' summaries of the Trego Basketball Tournament last week. Just a reminder that you can check the Husky Basketball Schedule by going to documents, sports schedules, then HS basketball schedule for any scheduling changes and final scores.
'The Husky Boys' 62-53 win over the Oakley Plainsmen on Saturday, Dec. 11 put them in fifth place overall during the week-long, 2021 Purple and Gold Tournament held in WaKeeney. Against the Plainsmen, the following Huskies scored: Bailey Sides, 16 points; Kenton Thalheim, 12; Jeremiah Hansen, 11; Foster, Brands, 10; Eric Loya, 7; Brody Preston, 4; Drew Schemper, 2.
On Tuesday, Dec. 7, the Huskies opened the Purple and Gold Tournament with a first-round matchup against the top-seeded, WaKeeney Eagles team. The Husky boys fell short, losing 47-61 to its host Eagles team - who eventually went on to win the tournament. "It wasn't a good shooting night for us and we couldn't get into a good flow on the offensive end the whole night (against Trego County)," Sides reported on his team's first-round loss. "On defense, we also didn't rebound, and gave them extra shots." Against the Trego Eagles, the following Huskies scored: Senior Eric Loya led with 14 points; Bailey Sides, 13; Foster Brands, 8; Drew Schemper, 5; Jeremiah Hansen, 4; Kenton Thalheim, 3.
On Friday, Dec. 10, the Huskies traveled back to WaKeeney to win a 61-50 consolation game against the Victoria Knights, during Purple and Gold Tournament bracket play. "We got ourselves into a hole early in that game, trailing 15-10 after the first quarter but had a good second quarter, with each of our seniors contributing five points each quarter," Coach Sides commented. "I was pleased with our overall effort, but we still have a long way to go to get to where I think we can be. I have the confidence that we will be more consistent and play like we are capable." Facing the Victoria Knights, Northern Valley scorers were: Bailey Sides, 18 points; Eric Loya, 15; Drew Schemper, 10; Foster Brands, 6; Kenton Thalheim, 6; Jeremiah Hansen, 4; Brody Preston, 2.'
'The Lady Huskies took on the Trego Golden Eagles on December 7th to start off the Purple and Gold Tournament. The Lady Huskies fell 12-47. The Huskies battled hard and showed a large crowd how much passion they have for the game. The defense stepped up huge and played very well despite being very largely outsized by the Lady Golden Eagles. The struggle for the night was shooting the ball against much taller defenders. Scorers were: Mary Baird, 4; Savannah Rose, 3; Tanea Speer, 2; Braxton Cox, 2; Thayz Saenz, 1.
The Lady Huskies took on the Victoria Lady Knights on December 10th in the second round of the Purple and Gold Tournament. The final score was 35-44. The Huskies improved incredibly on both ends of the floor from their previous game. The Lady Knights had a size advantage but the Lady Huskies battled hard inside for most of the night. The lid came off the basket and the Lady Huskies were able to put up 35 points on the Lady Knights and led at different points in the game including going into the half. The fourth quarter went the way of the Lady Knights and the game ended as a 9 point loss for the Lady Huskies. Austyn Cox had a great night shooting from 3 point range hitting 3 for 3 from behind the line. From a coaching standpoint, I was incredibly impressed and proud of the girls for how they fought and improved on both ends of the floor. Scorers for the Lady Huskies were: Austyn Cox, 11; Shaylee Vsetecka, 6; Mary Baird, 6; Savannah Rose, 4; Tanea Speer, 3; Stephanie Whitney, 3; Braxton Cox, 2.
The Lady Huskies played their final game of the Purple and Gold Tournament against the LaCrosse Leopards on Dec. 11th at 9 am. Final score was 32-40. Despite the early game time after playing the day before, the Lady Huskies brought the energy again. The Lady Huskies had a tough time scoring in the first half before getting things going in the second half. The third quarter saw the Lady Huskies take a lead early on with aggressive play on defense and fast break opportunities. The Lady Huskies had more field goals made, but were outscored at the free throw line by 8 points by the Leopards which ended up being the final deficit. Scoring for the Lady Huskies (against LaCrosse): Austyn Cox, 15; Mary Baird, 5; Braxton Cox, 4; Shaylee Vsetecka, 2; Stephanie Whitney, 2; Tanea Speer, 2; Delaney Sides, 2.
Coach Pugh’s final remarks: This tournament helped the team to grow as a unit and the girls have developed immensely from our first game of the season. I am very pleased with the development of our defense and attacking style. The offense has started to take shape and shown a lot of growth from our first two games of the season to our last two games. Our focus going forward is making the easy shots and free throws, being consistent on offense and limiting turnovers. Defensively we will keep up the aggressiveness and work on cutting down our fouls. There is a lot of positive development through the team and we’re turning the corner to what we know this team’s potential is.'