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RANDOLPH — The Randolph Lady Cardinal basketball team stumbled in its first venture onto the court in 2026 when hosting Hartington- Newcastle on Jan. 2.
The Lady Wildcats jumped on the Lady Cards in the opening frame and went on to take the game 43-27.
Randolph was down 10-2 after the opening eight minutes, and Hartington-Newcastle methodically pulled away in each quarter.
The Lady Wildcats added a bucket to the lead by halftime, tacked on another basket to the lead in the third then coasted to a 14-10 advantage in the last period to post the 43-27 final score.
Abbey Backer and Delayne Thelen paced the Lady Cards with eight points each. Kynlee Winkelbauer added four, Lilly Kuchta scored three and Breylee Kelley and Aniston Schmidt each tossed in a bucket.
Kelley pulled down seven rebounds and Backer grabbed six.
Kuchta and Backer each dished out a couple of assists and Winkelbauer swiped three steals.
The Lady Cards were set to travel to Walthill Jan. 6 to take on the Lady Blujays and will head to Winside Jan. 8. Niobrara/Verdigre is scheduled to come to Randolph on Jan. 13.
H-N (3-6) 10 8 11 14 — 43 RAN (1-7) 2 6 9 10 — 27
RANDOLPH: Braylee Kelley 0-1 2-6 2; Lilly Kuchta 1-8 0-6 3; Abbey Backer 3-14 2-4 8; DelayneThelen3-90-08;KynleeWinkelbauer 2-4 0-2 4; Aniston Schmidt 1-2 0-0 2
