Wauneta-Palisade takes fourth in RPAC tournament

    After wins over Dundy County Stratton and Paxton in the first two rounds of the RPAC tournament, the Wauneta-Palisade girls basketball teams lost games to West No. 1 seed Maywood/Hayes Center and Southwest.
    Played in Paxton, the Wolves’ shooting from distance hurt WP. MHC made six first half 3’s. The Broncos made more free throws, 11-15, than field goals, 7, in the first half.
    WP only trailed 16-21 with 5:21 left in the second quarter, but trailed 25-37 at halftime.
    Three 3’s by GraCee Goings helped cut into the Broncos deficit. Aided by 5-6 free throw shooting, WP pulled to within 43-50 going into the fourth quarter then narrowed the gap to five points with 4:49 to go. At that point, MHC spread the floor and bled the clock.
    “We knew we’d need to be really close or have the lead going into the fourth or MHC can do a very good job of slowing the game and limiting possessions late in close games. We had our chances late in the game on a couple possessions to close the gap, we just couldn’t get some key shots to go down,” Cox said.
    MHC made 11-16, including its last nine points, from the charity stripe in the fourth. With only two field goals and four free throws, the Broncos lost the game 52-69.
    “My girls did everything I asked them to do. We executed our game plan perfectly. Give MHC credit for going 11-16 from the line in the fourth to seal their victory,” Cox said.
    Goings scored 20 points to lead the Broncos. P. Cox had 16 points and 21 rebounds.
    The loss sent WP back to the RPAC consolation game. The Broncos also placed fourth in 2021.
    “Consolation games are tough because you have your heart set on a championship game,” Cox said.
    The Broncos took on Southwest, the fourth seed in the East division that upset No. 1 seed Alma in the second round, for the third time this season.
    The outcome, unfortunately, was the same as the first two meetings, a loss for the Broncos.
    Behind five points from P. Cox and four by Goings, WP held a 9-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.
    Southwest stormed back in the second quarter behind three 3’s, leaving the Broncos trailing 18-21 at halftime.
    P. Cox made WP’s only third quarter field goal. Despite 4-6 free throw shooting the Broncos trailed 24-34 heading into the fourth quarter.
    “We went down 11 in the fourth and had two great possessions to cut it to six with less than four minutes left but we just couldn’t get it any closer. We got some clean looks at the basket, but they just wouldn’t fall,” Cox said.
    Two more 3’s and seven-straight points from the charity stripe by Southwest closed the door on WP as time ran out in the 38-51 loss.
    Cox said the Broncos played really good defense and did a great job on the boards.
    “The huge difference in the last two games really comes down to getting outscored from beyond the arc,” Cox said.
    P. Cox finished with a double-double, 16 points and 15 rebounds.
    “I’m really proud of the ball we played over conference week. Despite going 2-2 I like our defense and feel good about the last couple weeks of basketball heading into the postseason,” Cox said.
    Class C2 No. 7. Southern Valley, seeded second, upset previously unbeaten MHC in the championship game 54-39.

Up next
    WP will look to add more wins when it travels to subdistrict opponent Medicine Valley (6-9) Thursday. Friday the Broncos will host Sutherland (3-11)
    Remaining on WP’s regular season schedule are Cheylin, Kansas and Maywood/Hayes Center (17-1).
    WP is currently 17th in the Class D2 point standings and holds a 42.5294 to 41.1333 over Medicine Valley to claim the right to host the subdistrict as the highest seed. Others in the D2-9 subdistrict are Dundy County Stratton, Hitchcock County and Wallace.
    Subdistricts will be played Feb 13, Feb 14 and Feb 16.