The Winner Warriors marched through the snow into Fort Pierre for a boys and girls basketball doubleheader earlier tonight. In the first game of the evening, the girls defense took center stage as both teams played a tight two-point contest. The Lady Buffs played an improved style of play early, but the Warriors shooting led by sophomore Keelie Kuil who finished with 12-points gave them an edge going into the half. The Warriors controlled the final two quarters as the defense of Kylie Sachtjen took over as she finished with five steals that led to breakaway baskets. The lone deep ball from the Lady Buffs came from Camryn Norman, who gave Stanley County a ton of solid minutes. The Warriors would go on to win 39-15 and improve to 1-1 on the season, the Lady buffs falling to 1-3. The Lady Buffs take on Philip this Thursday at 2:30.
In the second game, the shooting started early as the Buffaloes started to knock down some early threes. With the Warriors missing Nebraska-commit Shawn Hammerbeck, they turned to sophomore Carter Craven to carry the load. And he did. Craven was active on both ends of the court swallowing up rebounds and blocking shots. His paint-presence would help him post 19 points and be named the player of the game. Trailing late in the fourth-quarter, a couple late threes from Eddie Duffy and Paxton Deal would bring Stanley County within six, but there simply wasn’t enough time as Winner was able to get to the line and make free throws, ultimately putting it out of reach. Winner wins 48-33. The takeaway from this game was that both of these teams hold serious talent, and will be tough outs come Invitational time.
