Sports2

by REX ZIMMERMAN
The South Barber Lady Chieftains used a big second quarter Saturday to pull away from the Attica Lady Bulldogs and post 46-38 win to take home the consolation plaque at the “54 Classic” hosted by Cunningham.
The Lady Chieftains (7-6) and the Chieftain boys (6-7) hosted Attica on Tuesday night and play this Friday, February 3, at Stafford and Tuesday, Feb. 7 at Pretty Prairie before returning home for a Feb. 10 game with Central Christian.
Upended By ‘Cats
Coach Steve Roberts and his Lady Chiefs opened play in the “54 Classic” on Jan. 24 as they lost a close battle with the host Cunningham Lady Wildcats by a final 39-36 score.
South Barber trailed 6-4 after the opening period and 16-10 at halftime. The Lady Chiefs made a run in the third quarter and cut the lead back to 3 points. In a wild final period both teams poured in 15 points giving Cunningham the 3-point win.
Morgan Koblitz had the hot hand for South Barber as she led the team with 15 points, 3 rebounds and 3 steals. Jessica Daughhetee added 7 points and 7 rebounds and Brooke Murphy had 5 points and a team high 8 boards. Shania Farney had a good game with 4 points and 5 rebounds followed by Naicee Gugelmeyer with 3 points and 4 assists and Lauren Hitchcock with 2 points. Also playing but not scoring were Morgan Myers, Ali Thurman and Courtney Roark.
Mangle Mustangs
Friday night’s semifinal game saw the Lady Chieftains have no problems with Macksville as they rolled to an easy 60-25 win over the Lady Mustangs.
South Barber jumped out to a quick 12-8 lead after the first quarter then used big second and third quarters to open up a comfortable 52-21 lead heading into the final eight minutes.
Junior center Jessica Daughhetee controlled the inside game as she knocked down 22 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, while senior Naicee Gugelmeyer was also in double figures with 15 points to go with 4 assists. Riley Denton had 6 points and 6 rebounds with Morgan Myers scoring 4 points, Paige Lambert, Lauren Hitchcock and Shania Farney 3 points each, Brooke Murphy 2 points and Ali Thurman and Paige Koblitz 1 point each.
South Barber won the rebound battle 41-25 and were 24 of 48 from the field while holding Macksville to just 5 of 34 shooting.
Big Second Quarter
In Saturday’s consolation bracket finals, both Attica and South Barber played well in the first quarter with the Lady Bulldogs holding a slim 12-11 lead. In the second period, however, the Lady Chiefs turned up the defense and held Attica to just one basket while getting their own scoring on track to post a 24-14 lead at halftime. Attica tried to make a couple of runs in the second half but couldn’t cut into the lead as South Barber ended the contest with a 46-38 win.
Jessica Daughhetee had another double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds with Morgan Koblitz also in double digits with 12 points to go with a team high 4 assists. Naicee Gugelmeyer had 8 points and 6 rebounds, Morgan Myers 4 points and Brooke Murphy 3 points and 7 rebounds. Also playing well but not scoring were Riley Denton, Ali Thurman and Lauren Hitchcock. South Barber won the rebound battle 35-29 and were 12 of 19 from the freethrow line.