Fairfield, Neb. – Holdrege made the trip to Sandy Creek High School for a Tuesday double-header and came away with mixed results.
The girls were able to use a hot shooting performance in the first quarter to catapult them to a 51-27 win over the Cougars. The Dusters came out firing hitting seven of their 10 three-pointers in the opening quarter. With a 26-11 lead, Holdrege weathered the storm in the second quarter when their offense went cold. Despite only managing two points, the Dusters went into the locker room with a 28-15 lead.
Fouls began to pile up early forcing Avery Hurlbert to spend a good portion of the game on the bench. Her teammates stepped up nicely in her absence and never let the Cougars get too close. 10 Dusters were able to get in on the scoring, much to the delight of head coach Derek Runcie.
Holdrege was led by Hurlbert’s 16 points, followed by Keeley Vaughn with nine and Emily Stutzman’s seven points. The win put the Dusters back to .500 on the year with a 2-2 record.
The boys game was a lot different with scoring coming at a premium. Holdrege lost 43-36 dropping their second straight contest. The Cougar’s defense and size caused a lot of issues for the Duster offense. Sandy Creek just kept working away and steadily grew a 12-point lead after three quarters.
Holdrege put up a strong effort in the final few minutes and outscored Sandy Creek 15-10 in the fourth quarter, but it was too late to finish the comeback. Garret Johnson led the Dusters with 14 points, and Coy Swanson added 12 points. The Dusters fell to 2-2
Holdrege is back at the Duster Dome on Friday, December 15. Tipoff for the girls is set for 6 pm, and KUVR’s broadcast will begin at 5:45.
