Lady Wildcats end week 0-2

The Banner County Lady Wildcats lost a close game when they hosted Garden County on Friday, Dec. 4 and followed with a second tough loss to Potter-Dix on Saturday.

MaKenna Dahlrin, sophomore starter for the Wildcats, led the way earning eight points, followed by Jadyn Cross and Paige Cross with five each. Courtney Knisley and Shaylee White each added four and Savannah Jordan contributed three.

Dahlgrin, named the most valuable player for her efforts, pulled down 25 rebounds total, and led in steals with 2. She deflected one shot and racked up four personal fouls, but gave the ball away only once.

Paige Cross added another eight rebounds splitting them evenly between offense and defense during the game, but turned the ball over four times and ended the game when she fouled out.

Knisley contributed seven rebounds, one steal and three turnovers, while Jordan, Jadyn Cross, and Emily Singleton each pulled down three rebounds.

Despite their efforts, the Lady Wildcats lost to Garden County in a hard-fought game, 36-29.

"We played pretty well together, especially for our first game of the season, but we had one stretch of turnovers in the second half that Garden County capitalized on and we had too many fouls down the stretch, coach Brittany Cooper said.

The Lady Wildcats then ran up against the tough defense of the Potter-Dix Lady Coyotes on Saturday, Dec. 5.

The Banner County girls struggled throughout the game with Potter-Dix taking an early lead, ending the first quarter up 17-4.

Paige Cross led the Lady Wildcats in points with five, followed closely by Jordan, Singleton and Knisley adding four each. Dahlgrin and White each contributed two and freshman Jadyn Cross one.

The Banner County girls were put up a total of 33 attempts but were feeling the pressure and landed just 30 percent of those.

Rebounds were tougher in this intense game and Paige Cross once again led the effort as she pulled down nine, followed by Knisley with six, Dahlgrin with five, and Singleton, Jordan and Jaydn Cross each grabbing two.

"For the girls varsity game, I thought we played fairly well as a team," Cooper said. "It took us awhile to run our press break right and break Potter-Dix's press, but once we did, we got great shots."

The Lady Wildcats were outplayed throughout the game, as the Potter-Dix girls pulled down a total of 43 rebounds and executed 21 successful steals while keeping turnovers down to eighteen compared to Banner County's 30.

While the Lady Coyotes racked up sixteen deflections and four blocks, the Banner County girls were only sent to the free throw line a total of ten times.

The Lady Wildcats played aggressively in their fight for a win, and found themselves in foul trouble early in the game with a total of 22 fouls.

Dahlgrin and White each racked up five personal fouls and Singleton, four. Paige Cross and Jordan also found themselves in foul trouble with two each.

"That game made it pretty clear that we need to work on self-control and mental toughness, since we had some emotional outbursts that weren't very sporting," Cooper said. "I'm confident that we can grow and improve on that aspect in the coming games."