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WALTHILL - Hartington-Newcastle held on for a 53-49 win here to improve to 4-2 before heading into the five-day moratorium set by the Nebraska School Activities Association.
Earlier in the week, the Lady Wildcats were beaten by Niobrara/ Verdigre, 43-32, in a game played in Hartington on Dec. 17 for only their second loss of the young season.
Hartington-Newcastle was cruising along for a seemingly easy win until the Lady Blujays came to life in the fourth quarter to make a game of it.
“A win is a win, but I did not think we competed very well at times,” said HNS coach Grant Rolfes. “We let Walthill back in the game in the fourth quarter and had to really battle to escape with the win.”
The Lady Wildcats went up by seven at the end of the first eight minutes and increased the lead by a point before the intermission. The teams went to the locker room with Hartington-Newcastle up, 27-19.
The advantage grew to 37-24 at the end of the third frame before Walthill exploded for 23 points in the final period to get back in the contest. The Lady Wildcats put up 17 points of their own in the fourth to hang on for the 53-49 final score and their fourth win of the season.
Maddie Steffen and McKenzie Bruning shouldered the offensive load for Hartington-Newcastle. Steffen poured in 22 points on the night and Bruning was right behind her with 21.
“Maddie Steffen and McKenzie Bruning are our returning starters and did a good job of keeping composure and battling,” Rolfes said. “We are a young team and we hopefully learned a lesson that you can’t get comfortable with a lead in the fourth quarter.”
Bruning completed a doubledouble by grabbing 13 rebounds in the game, Steffen did the same by almost matching her point total with caroms, recording 21 boards. Vayda Lippert hauled down seven missed shots.
Bruning also handed out six assists and Steffen completed a productive evening with four steals.
Niobrara/Verdigre outlasted the Lady Wildcats behind 29 points from Delani Runnels who canned 12-of-16 gifters from the charity stripe in the contest.
The Lady Wildcats used a solid third quarter to tighten the score as the teams went into the fourth with N/V clinging to 29-27 advantage after heading into the intermission with a 21-16 lead.
HNS was outscored 14-5 in the final frame to arrive at the 43-32 final score.
“We played well for a large majority of the game , but just a few key plays down the stretch where we failed to get rebounds or execute offensively that made the difference,” said the coach. “The Runnels girl is a talented player and we struggled to slow her down offensively. Their zone was good, they’re long, but we have to continue to improve in our ability to score.”
Bruning was the lone Lady Wildcat in double figures in the game with 10 points. Ella Eickhoff and Vayda Lippert each added seven. Bruning just missed a double-double with nine rebounds and also swiped a couple of steals.
Lippert handed out two assists and had a blocked shot.
Hartington-Newcastle will host its own Holiday Tournament with action starting on Dec. 27 and running through Dec. 30.
HNS (4-2) 19 8 10 17 - 53 WAL (2-4) 12 7 5 23 - 48 HNS: Vayda Lippert 1-10 1-2 3; Hazel Hochstein 1-7 0-0 2; Alejandra Reyes 0-1 4-4 4; Karissa Bruning 0-2 0-0 0; Ella Eickhoff 1-7 0-0 2; McKenzie Bruning 7-11 7-13 21; Maddie Steffen 7-23 6-10 22.
N/V (5-3) 11 10 8 14 - 43 HNS (4-2) 8 8 11 5 - 32 HNS: Lippert 3-14 0-0 7; Hochstein 1-9 1-2 4; Reyes 0-2 0-0 0; Kloe Fischer 0-1 0-0 0; Eickhoff 2-6 2-2 7; M. Bruning 4-11 2-2 10; Steffen 1-8 2-2 4.
