The Crofton Warriors girls’ and boys’ basketball teams went a combined 7-1 this past week to improve both of their records greatly as they enter the holiday moratorium.
Most recently, the Warriors stayed home to take on the Winside Wildcats on Monday, Dec. 22. Against the Wildcats, neither Warriors team had any trouble as both teams earned dominant wins at home.
In the boy’s game, the Warriors started out hot and cruised for a 72-23 victory.
In the girls’ game, the Lady Warriors had one rough quarter in which they were actually outscored by the Wildcats, but more than made up for it in the other three quarters. Aside from the second quarter, the Lady Warriors outscored their opponent 52-12 to earn a dominant 63-24 win in front of their home crowd.
Prior to their pair of wins over Winside, both Warriors teams hit the road to compete against two out-of-state schools at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, S.D.
On the road, the Warriors split their games, as the girls team walked away with a win and the boys team received their second loss of the season.
The boys, who played the Vermillion Tanagers, were unable to keep up with the red-hot offense of their opponents and ultimately suffered a 69-26 loss.
The girls, on the other hand, took on the Centerville Tornadoes, and walked away victorious. In a tight, back-and-forth contest, the Lady Warriors were tested but ultimately pulled away to earn a gritty 55-46 victory.
Before their ventures to South Dakota, the Crofton teams once again hit the road, this time to Niobrara to take on the Niobrara/Verdigre Cougars on Thursday, Dec. 18. On the road, both the Lady Warriors and the Warriors showed little signs of trouble as each team earned victories by more than 20 points.
In the girls’ game, the Lady Warriors struggled to gain separation in the first half as the Cougars clung to their coattails. After leading just 26-19 at halftime, the Lady Warriors found a new gear in the second half. Behind a 13-4 run in the third quarter, the Lady Warriors were able to separate themselves and earned a comfortable 51-30 win.
In the boys’ game, the contest was never close as the Warriors took it to the winless Cougars from the get-go. After outscoring the Cougars 21-7 in the first quarter and 15-9 in the second quarter, the Warriors finished the job with a 21-point performance in the third quarter to catapult themselves to a 66-33 win. Leading the way for the boys’ team in their victory were Blake Connot with 17 points, Trevor Allen with 15 points, and Preston Foxhoven with 13 points.
Finally, to kick off their week, the Crofton Warriors travelled to Hartington to take on the Hartington Cedar Catholic Trojans on Tuesday, Dec. 16.
Against Cedar Catholic, both Crofton squads had their hands full, but both managed to walk away with a win.
In an extremely back-and-forth girls’ game, the Lady Warriors managed to gain a slight advantage in the first half thanks to a solid offensive performance in the second quarter. After leading 23-20 going into the third, the Lady Warriors hit a slight slump, and the Lady Trojans took advantage. After being outscored in the third, the Lady Warriors lead was cut down to just one point going into the fourth. However, despite their recent offensive struggles, the Lady Warriors responded in the fourth with their best offensive quarter of the contest. In the final eight minutes, the Lady Warriors managed to hit shots when they mattered most and outscored the Trojans 18-15 to secure the 48-44 win on the road. Leading the way for the Warriors in their tight victory were Jasie Janssen with 13 points, Jacee Anthony with 12 points, and Addyson Ostermeyer with 11.
In the boys’ contest, the Warriors were able to snag a victory in a slightly more comfortable fashion. After leading by just one point at the end of the first quarter, the Warriors rallied in quarter two to extend their lead to 22-13, going into halftime. However, out of halftime, the Trojans found a rhythm offensively, and with a 16-point performance, managed to cut the Warriors lead down to just four points going into the final quarter of play. With the momentum on the side of the home squad, the tensions rose, but the Warriors showed they were built for the moment. With their highest-scoring quarter of the contest, Crofton was able gradually expand their lead and clinch the 49-38 win on the road. Leading the way for the Warriors in their win over Cedar Catholic were Allen with 18 points, Foxhoven with ten, and Tyson Jackson with eight.
With a 3-1 performance this past week, the boys team improved their regular-season record to 6-2 while the Lady Warriors improved to 8-1 after going 4-0.