Sports
Sioux split with region opponents
Tyler Ohmann
12/20/2011
With four starters with a wealth of varsity experience the Westhope-Newburg boy’s basketball team appeared poised to have a successful season.
That hope has been tested the past week as the Sioux suffered their third straight loss last Tuesday in a 59-44 game in Mohall. However, the Sioux bounced back
Thursday with a 59-46 win over Kenmare to help them restore some confidence.
First on Tuesday the Sioux traveled to take on the Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood Mavericks in a non-district battle between nearby rivals.
The contest, however, turned out to be more one-sided as the Mavericks overwhelmed the visiting Sioux.
“Mohall is a good team, take nothing away from them,” said Sioux Head Coach Bob Beaudrie. “We just couldn’t get anything started offensively (or) defensively.”
The Mavericks hopped out to a sizeable lead early as their pressure defense led to some fast break opportunities and an 18-7 lead after one quarter. The onslaught subsided some in the second quarter, but the Mavericks extended their lead to 14 at halftime.
“We took some pretty suspect shots in the first half,” Beaudrie said. “We came out fine in the second half, but when you go into half 14 points down, it’s pretty tough to come back from.”
The Sioux kept up with the Mavericks in the second half, but were unable to overcome the deficit.
Beaudrie was a little dissappointed with the performance considering the talent he believes the team possesses.
“Being young is no excuse, because we are, but we are not,” Beaudrie said. “We have an experienced team, they do know what’s going on, but it’s just a matter of going out and doing it all the time.”
“It will come, but tonight was kind of a let down, kind of a setback,” Beaudrie added.
The Sioux were led in scoring by junior Karlie Hancock. The starting center muscled his way to 14 points. Also in double figures for the Sioux were sophomore Hunter Braaten and junior Kodie Hancock, who each had 11 points.
Kodie also led the Sioux with eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
The Sioux were a dismal 1-of-14 on three-point shots, and Beaudrie believes the shot selection was to blame.
“We want to try and work it inside first,” Beaudrie said. “When we take those outside shots, and quick shots our confidence starts to wane.”
“We want to take those inside shots, drive inside and play to our strengths. We are an inside team, a driving team, and we have a tendency to not go to our strengths some times,” Beaudrie added.
The outside shot not falling may have been the difference in the game for the Sioux.
“Our post play has been pretty consistent all year, and we need that,” Beaudrie said. “But it is what it is, our guards couldn’t get anything going.”
The outside shot was not a problem for the Mavericks who got four threes from senior Anthony Scherr. The Mavericks were led in scoring by senior Spencer Olson who had 17.
Beaudrie hoped that the Sioux could use their effort in the second half to further their season.
“I thought our defense was better in the second half, our movements were better, and we need to build upon that,” Beaudrie said. “But it needs to happen soon, because we are a better team than what we have shown the last couple games.”
The Sioux did just that on Thursday night as they cruised past Kenmare with a consistent effort.
Westhope-Newburg never really ran away from the Honkers in the game, as they just consistently built their lead. They outscored the Honkers 15-13 in the first quarter, extended the lead to six at halftime, it climbed to nine after three quarters and ended in a 59-46 win.
Braaten had an improved night scoring 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting. He also led the Sioux with five steals and had eight rebounds.
Karlie Hancock had another good night inside leading the Sioux with 17 rebounds and scoring 12 points for his first double-double of the season.
Senior Wyatt Kitzman led the Sioux with six assists. He, Kodie Hancock and Jon Sivertson all had eight points in the victory.
Jon Essler was a bright spot for the Honkers in the loss. The senior had 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Following the week’s split the Sioux stand at 3-4. They will travel to Max to play the Cossacks at 7 p.m. tonight to close out their schedule until after the holiday break.