WP beats Wallace, falls to CHS

    The Wauneta-Palisade girls’ basketball team kicked off its season with games against RPAC foes Wallace and Cambridge.
    WP headed to Wallace on opening night and brought home a 56-38 win.
    After a close first quarter, WP broke the game open in the second eight minutes. GraCee Goings scored seven straight points to help the Broncos to a 26-20 halftime lead.
    Peyton Cox scored nine of WP’s 13 third quarter points.
    After only extending its lead by one point in the third quarter, WP broke the game open. The Broncos outscored Wallace 17-6 in the final stanza for the win.
    WP Head Coach Matt Cox said he liked the way the Broncos ground things out at times.
    “Our transition offense was what made the difference in the game, but we picked when to capitalize on it,” Cox said.
    P. Cox led the Broncos with 17 points and 15 rebounds. Goings and C. Cox also finished in double figures with 14 and 13 points, respectively.
    The Broncos looked poised to pick up their second win of the season Friday against Cambridge, but allowed the Trojans to rally in the fourth quarter.
    Going into the game, Coach Cox expected Cambridge to pose some size problems for WP, but expected the Broncos’ speed, guard play and outside shooting to give them an advantage.
    Baskets by Chloe Stehno, Goings and McKenna Doetker gave the Broncos a 13-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.
    Seven of WP’s second quarter points came from the free throw line. But the Broncos had eight misses from the charity stripe, a stat Cox says has to get better.
    Starting the second half with a 26-24 lead, WP extended its advantage by two points in the third quarter. P. Cox warmed up from the floor and Goings tossed in two three pointers to put the Broncos ahead 40-36 going into the fourth quarter.
    “We played really well against a team who was much longer than we were. We went cold in the fourth quarter because we looked scared to lose. We stopped running out in transition and we just couldn’t get anything going in the half court in the fourth,” Cox said.
    P. Cox made WP’s only fourth quarter field goal and the Broncos went 1-5 from the free throw line.
    “We did a great job attacking the lane for three quarters and got to the line 23 times. But we’ve got to make more than nine free throws,” Cox said.
    When the smoke cleared, WP lost the game 45-43.
    Goings scored 16 points and P. Cox added 12. P. Cox pulled down 13 rebounds and Goings and Stehno nabbed nine each.
Up next
    The Cattle Trail Tournament began Tuesday with WP taking on Decatur Community, Kansas. Cox said it will be a tough draw to start the tournament.
    The Broncos got the win and will play Friday at 3:30 p.m. CT at MCC. Saturday’s game will be at either 5:30 p.m. at MCC or 4 p.m. CT at MHS.