Lady Bulldogs pick up win at Peetz & another at home over Holyoke

By Candie Fix

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The Lady Bulldogs are on a winning streak, taking victories in five of their last eight games. Overall, the Haxtun team is 6-6 heading into the final few weeks of the regular season. A record with six wins already checks off one of this year's team goals; to win more games than the season before.

"The girls are starting to play a little out of their comfort zone. Along with that risk, comes greater rewards. We are starting to see all the little things that we've worked on all year, start to click. We are shooting better, doing the little things right, and figuring out what works for our team," said Alicia Schram, Lady Bulldog Head Coach.

In a busy week of action, the Lady Bulldogs hit the road to Peetz on Friday and turned around to host the Lady Dragons from Holyoke the following day. Haxtun nabbed a 56-20 win on the road over the Lady Bulldogs in green and topped the Lady Dragons 47-34 at home.

The two wins last weekend gives the team a two-game win streak, but the Lady Bulldogs have picked up four wins in their last five games. Since Dec. 20, Haxtun has clinched wins over Holyoke, twice, Kimball, Neb., Prairie and Peetz while suffering losses only to Akron, Wiggins and Otis.

"One of our main goals as a team and as a coaching staff was to win more games than we did last year. Once we got over that mental goal, I think the girls finally saw their potential," Schram said. "Our team has definitely grown closer over the last three weeks, and that has driven their success. The family atmosphere has been fun to see."

Haxtun put on a dominating performance in Peetz, going up 24-4 in the first quarter. The Lady Bulldogs put 13 points on the board while holding Peetz to just two in the second to hold a 37-6 advantage at half time. Haxtun added 15 points in the third and four in the fourth for a final 56-20 showing.

Senior Jayleigh Bullard led Haxtun on the scoreboard with 13 points in Peetz. She connected with six field goals and a free throw for her double-digit performance. Kinsley Koberstein racked up eight points, Katiegh Cody put up seven and Kelsie Hadeen and Emily Anderson each added five.

Bobbi Starkebaum, a senior, pulled down eight total rebounds, the team high. She nabbed seven on offense and one on defense. Anderson brought down seven rebounds, Cody pulled down six and Reagan Jones totaled five.

Hadeen led in assists with three followed by Anderson, Starkebaum, Jones, Leah Edwards and Lilly Lemesany, each with two assists. Edwards and Anderson each had five steals.

Saturday's contest was much the same as the night before with Haxtun gaining an early advantage, 19-3 in the first quarter. The Bulldogs put 19 points on the board for a 32-12 lead at the half. Another 15 points in the second half gave the home team a 13-point win; the Bulldogs second over Holyoke this season.

Starkebaum connected with eight field goals and a single free throw for 17 on the night. She also led in rebounds with six, four offensively and two defensively. Anderson scored eight points followed by Bullard and Hadeen, each with seven.

Hadeen brought down five rebounds, Jones and Anderson each pulled down four and Lemesany and Bullard both tallied three. Anderson registered six steals and also led in assists with six.

"A fun stat from last week is that 13 out of 14 of our girls scored last week in varsity games and everyone recorded minutes," Schram said. "It was good to see some of the younger girls get to be successful in a varsity game and so fun to watch the normal starters support them with so much excitement from the bench. It will probably be something I remember for a very long time."

This week the Lady Bulldogs are set to host Merino on Friday and Burlington on Saturday. From there, the team still has match ups with Holyoke, Akron, Brush, Idalia, Caliche and Sedgwick County remaining on the regular schedule, many of those marking Lower Platte League contests.

"We have a tough couple of weeks coming up, for sure. There are a lot of very winnable games left on our schedule. We will just continue to prepare them with as much ammunition as possible and give them the best shot at being successful. We will continue to work on the little things - especially finishing. They are a very intelligent team with a lot of drive, it will be fun to watch them find a way! It's hard to believe that there are more games behind us than what we have left," said Schram.