Below are the coaches' summaries of the basketball games against Arapahoe yesterday.
'The Northern Valley Husky boys' basketball squad hosted the Warriors of Arapahoe, Nebraska on Tuesday, Dec. 21 in Almena. The Huskies handily defeated the Warriors 68-40, and extended their winning record to 6-1 entering the Christmas break.
The Huskies started fast and furious by jumping out to a 25-7 lead after the first quarter. By halftime, Northern Valley led 42-15 thanks to their stifling, full-court press. Coach Kevin Sides reported of his team. "It was a fun night for us, we came out and played our style of basketball and sped them up - causing them 31 turnovers, which led to many open shots - for us. This group of kids really loves to play this game, and play it the right way - as a team. They are so fun to watch, and we are eager to get back at it after Christmas."
Senior Bailey Sides led his team with 20 points; Senior Eric Loya followed with 15; Jeremiah Hansen earned 13; Drew Schemper, 6; Foster Brands, 5; Kenton Thalheim, 5; Brody Preston, 4.
In junior varsity action, the Huskies defeated the Warriors 52-30. Scoring for the Huskies, Gabe Rudd led with 16 points; Jason Cox earned 10; Drew Schemper, 8; Jeremiah Hansen, 5; Kyle Speer, 4; Caden Lowry, 4; Brody Preston, 3; Kenton Thalheim, 2.'
'The Lady Huskies battled against Arapahoe on Dec. 21. The final score of the game was 44-59. The Huskies came out much stronger with a lead after the first quarter. The Lady Warriors kept the pressure on for the entire game and were able to take a 9 point lead into the half. The Huskies struggled shooting through the 2nd and 3rd quarters and ended up in a hole they were unable to dig themselves out of when the shots started falling again in the 4th quarter. Overall, the team played hard and fought all the way through.
Scoring for the Huskies- Thayz Saenz- 15, Austyn Cox- 9, Shaylee Vsetecka- 7, Mary Baird- 4, Delaney Sides- 3, Braxton Cox, Savannah Rose, and Stephanie Whitney all scored 2 a piece
Leading Rebounders- Austyn Cox-8, Mary Baird- 7, Delaney Sides- 4
The JV Lady Huskies had a three-quarter game against the JV Warriors. The game’s intensity picked up through the entire game with a lot of aggressive play on both sides. The Lady Huskies were able to close out the game in the final minute with two clutch free throws from Freshman Haley Hansen to close out a 21-20 win. The girls showed a lot of heart and composure to fight through like they did and didn’t let the moment get too big for them. Everybody that stepped on the court contributed in some way. The team was ecstatic to close out a hard-fought game with a dramatic win.'