Below are the coaches' summaries of the basketball games against Logan/Palco on 1/7 and Oberlin on 1/11.
'A combination of red and green fans converged Friday, Jan. 7 when the Logan Trojans hosted the Northern Valley Huskies on a cold, Friday night. The second meeting between the two boys' basketball clubs was fast-paced from tip-off to the final buzzer; and the Huskies came away with a 58-44 convincing win. The new hardwood floors of Logan's gymnasium bolstered a very physical matchup, where the two teams' defensive efforts resulted in a halftime score of 25-17 - giving Northern Valley the edge. The Huskies got off to a slow start, leading only 11-9 in the first quarter. Senior Eric Loya's fouls started accumulating early in the game, which brought Sophomore Brody Preston off the bench to score timely points from the field. "Leading by as much as twenty points in the second half, we cruised to a big conference win," Head Coach Kevin Sides commented. "We struggled getting going and our offense was stagnant at times, but our defense was good, especially our post defense. Foster Brands battled Dillon VanLaeys all night and Drew Schemper came in to help slow him down. Logan is a very hard team to match up with, as their size makes it difficult. Ty Kats is also a very good point-guard, so this was a very good win for us, and put our record at 8-1." Husky Senior Bailey Sides continued his hot. scoring streak from his point-guard position. Sides led his team with 18 points. Jeremiah Hansen followed with 14 points; Kenton Thalheim secured 6; Brody Preston, 6; Drew Schemper, 6; Foster Brands, 5; Eric Loya, 2; and Gabe Rudd, 1. After three (scheduled) quarters of J.V. boys action, the score was tied at 31. Logan was able to capitalize on the overtime win, scoring 36 points to N.V.'s tally of 35. Scoring for Northern Valley: Gabe Rudd led with 14 points; Brody Preston, 9; Aaron Henrickson, 6; Drew Schemper, 4; Jason Cox, 2. The Huskies' junior varsity record stands at 4-2.'
'The Lady Huskies traveled south to take on the Logan/Palco Trojans on 1/7/22 for a district contest. The Lady Huskies brought out their intensity from beginning to end and were able to control the game. The Lady Huskies executed on both ends of the court and played aggressively all game. Leading the way scoring for the Huskies was Thayz Saenz with 15 despite leaving the game in the third quarter with a knee injury. Austyn Cox had a strong showing with a 12 point 12 rebound double-double. Braxton Cox was able to get her 3 point shot to start falling and hit two of them finishing with 8 points. Mary Baird added 7 points and 7 rebounds. Freshman Delaney Sides also got into the scoring action with 7 points as well. Shaylee Vsetecka rounded out our scoring with 2 points and also had 4 rebounds. Overall, it was very nice to see the team play a well rounded game for all four quarters. The final score was 51-26. The JV Lady Huskies started out the night’s action with three quarters against Logan/Palco on 1/7/22. The girls battled hard all game in a very scrappy game. The Lady Huskies had a couple opportunities in the last 30 seconds to take the win but couldn’t get the baskets to fall. Scoring for the Huskies were: Delaney Sides with 5, Rebekah Henrickson 4, Haley Hansen and Angel Joppa ended with 2 apiece. The final score of the game was 13-14.'
'On Tuesday, Jan. 11 the Northern Valley boys' basketball team defeated the Red Devils of Oberlin by a convincing 77-19 final score. "The Huskies put on a shooting clinic the first half, to get to a 57-9 lead," Husky Boys' Head Coach Kevin Sides reported. "Kenton Thalheim had 24 points in that session where the boys shot 50 percent. Bailey Sides had another double-double with 10 points, 13 steals and 8 assists. This was another good win for us tonight. Kenton was hot the first half, and I felt like our team did a good job feeding him the ball. They all play so unselfish and just want to win and be their best as a team." While the Huskies' current win/loss record stands at 8/1, they don't return to the hardwoods to play ball until January 21, when they travel to Weskan to face the Coyotes. Scorers for the Huskies (against Oberlin) were: Kenton Thalheim, 24; Bailey Sides, 10; Eric Loya, 10; Foster Brands, 8; Jeremiah Hansen, 8; Drew Schemper, 8; Brody Preston, 8; Caden Lowry, 1. During two quarters of junior varsity play, the Northern Valley Boys defeated the Oberlin Devils 30-13. Huskies who put up J.V. scores were: Drew Schemper, 11; Brody Preston, 6; Jason Cox, 6; Gabe Rudd, 5; Aaron Henrickson, 2.'
'The NV Girls took on Decatur County on 1/11/22 in Almena. The girls came into the game missing Senior Savannah Rose and lost Junior Thayz Saenz in the opening sequence of the game. Being short handed and facing illness throughout the team already, the Lady Huskies were unable to match the energy of the Lady Red Devils. The Lady Red Devils brought a strong and attacking defense as well that gave the Lady Huskies problems throughout the game. The Lady Huskies will have some time off to get healthy with their next game being on 1/21/22 in Weskan. Scoring for the Huskies: Austyn Cox 11, Mary Baird 8, Braxton Cox 5, Stephanie Whitney 2, Delaney Sides 1. The final score of the game was 27-57. The NV JV girls also took on Decatur County to start off the night. The Lady Huskies struggled with the pressure the Lady Red Devils applied. They found some scoring towards the end of the halves but weren’t able to have consistent scoring throughout the game. The JV girls all played heavier minutes than usual and got in some quality playing time which will help them to develop. Their next game will be 1/21/22 in Weskan. Scoring for the Huskies: Haley Hansen- 7, Angel Joppa- 6, Tatum Lentz and Rebekah Henrickson had 2 apiece. The final score of the game was 17-37.'