Patriot Girls Win Holiday Tourney
By: Natalie Brabec, a junior at Leigh High School
Over winter break, for some people it is a time to relax, catch up with family and friends. But the Patriot girls’ basketball team had other plans as well: winning a tournament.
After a five-day Christmas moratorium, they traveled to Shelby for the Shelby-Rising City Holiday Tourney on Monday the 28th and Wednesday the 30th. They were scheduled to play on Monday and Tuesday, but since there was a blizzard on Tuesday, it put plans on hold for a bit.
They gave it all they got on both days and came home with two wins and first place in the tournament. The first opponent Clarkson-Leigh played was Fillmore Central and the second opponent was Arcadia/Loup City.
They first played Fillmore Central on Monday. Clarkson-Leigh started the game off strong with 24 points and limiting Fillmore Central to only 6 points in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Fillmore Central gained some ground on Clarkson-Leigh but not enough, bringing the score to 33-18 at the end of the first half. Clarkson-Leigh came out strong after the first half, scoring 18 points to Fillmore Central’s 9 in the third quarter. Both teams were battling strong in the fourth quarter, but Clarkson-Leigh held off Fillmore Central for a final score of 64-42.
Kennedy Settje was Clarkson-Leigh’s top scorer with 25 points.
Senior Emily Loseke said, “The Holiday Tournament was a great way to close out the 2020 part of our season. Championing the Holiday Tournament was really exciting. We’ve been improving since day one, and our future’s extremely bright. I can’t wait to see what we accomplish in the rest of our season.”
The second game Clarkson-Leigh played was against Arcadia/Loup City. Clarkson-Leigh took the lead early in the first quarter with a score of 11-6. The second quarter came and went with a score of 24-13. The third quarter started and Clarkson-Leigh stayed ahead with a score of 33-26. Both teams saw an open opportunity to win the game but Clarkson-Leigh took control of the quarter, scoring 24 points and Arcadia/Loup City scoring 17 points. The final score was 57-43. Cassidy Hoffman scored 20 points that game with Alissa Kasik scored 15 points.
Head Coach Matt Murren said, “In the championship on Wednesday, Arcadia-Loup City played a great game and made it tough for us to get any flow going. We were able to have a nice 4th quarter to stretch the lead and bring home the holiday tourney title. The kids played extremely hard both days. so it was rewarding for them to bring home 1st place. I am very excited about getting back into the school routine and for the remainder of the year. The girls are doing a great job and we have to make sure that we are improving each day and peaking at the end of the season."
This extends the Patriots’ win streak to 10, and they remain undefeated for the season.
Fillmore Central Stats:
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
Clarkson/Leigh: 24 9 18 13 64
Fillmore Central: 6 12 9 15 42
Individual Stats: (points; rebounds; assist; steals)
Chloe Hanel: 15, 7, 2, 3; Makenna Held: 0, 1, 0, 2; Kennedy Settje: 25, 6, 0, 2; Faith Indra: 2, 1, 1, 0; Bailey Lemburg: 0, 0, 4, 0; Korbee Wendt: 0, 1, 0, 0; Cassidy Hoffman: 2, 8, 2, 4; Kelsey Moore: 2, 0, 0, 0; Alissa Kasik: 6, 1, 6, 1; Kayden Schumacher: 12, 5, 2, 2; Emily Loseke : 0, 0, 1, 0
Arcadia/Loup City Stats:
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
Clarkson/Leigh: 11 13 9 24 57
Arcadia/Loup City: 6 7 13 17 43
Individual Stats: (points; rebounds; assist; steals)
Chloe Hanel: 12, 8, 4, 0; Makenna Held: 2, 2, 1, 0; Kennedy Settje: 3, 1, 3, 0; Faith Indra: 0, 0, 1, 1; Bailey Lemburg: 0, 1, 2, 0; Cassidy Hoffman: 20, 7, 0, 1; Alissa Kasik: 15, 2, 5, 0; Kayden Schumacher: 5, 10, 1, 2