WP girls 15-5 with two games remaining before post season

    The Wauneta-Palisade girls’ basketball team added wins over Medicine Valley and Sutherland last week and sits at 10th in the Class D2 point standings.
    WP hosted the Raiders to start the week.
    WP took control of the game in the first quarter. Cali Cox had the hot hand for the Broncos, scoring seven points over the game’s first eight minutes. Peyton Cox, Alexa Sandman, GraCee Goings and Chloe Stehno also scored for WP as the Broncos jumped out to a 15-10 lead.
    P. Cox scored five points for WP in the second quarter, but the Broncos continued to get scoring from multiple players. C. Cox, Halle Bardsley, Sandman and Stehno helped increase WP’s lead to 28-20 as the teams headed to the locker rooms for halftime.
    WP’s best offensive quarter came right after halftime. Medicine Valley cut WP’s lead to six points, 34-28, but the Broncos closed out the quarter on a 11-5 run.
    Goings and P. Cox made the Broncos’ only two field goals of the fourth quarter. WP made 7-11 free throws as time in the game ran down and took a 56-41 win.
    P. Cox finished with a team-high 19 points. C. Cox went down in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury, but still finished the game with 17 points.
    WP traveled to Sutherland the following night.
    Goings made a two pointer and three pointer to go with two two-point baskets by P. Cox in the first quarter. The team was sent to the charity stripe often and struggled to get shots to fall. WP made 5-17 free throws in the first quarter, but still held a 14- 8 lead.
    The Broncos held Sutherland to six second quarter points, but only added eight to their total.
    Offense was tough to come by for both teams in the third quarter. Bardsley made WP’s only basket to go with one free throw by P. Cox.
    Its lead cut to 25-22, WP turned on the gas in the fourth quarter. P. Cox got three field goals and Bardsley added another, but the rest of the Broncos’ six points came at the free throw line. WP made 6-12 free throws in the quarter and took the 40-30 win.
    WP was led by P. Cox with 17 points. P. Cox had nine rebounds, Sandman eight and Stehno seven.
Up next
    Tuesday night’s home game against Rawlins County, Kansas rounded out games for the point standings. WP’s final regular season game will be Saturday at Maywood/Hayes Center (21-1).
    The Wolves are fifth in the Class D2 point standings and will give the Broncos a good taste of what the post season will feel like.
    WP sits atop the subdistrict D2-9 point standings and should host the subdistrict. Games will be played on Tuesday and Thursday next week.
    Classes C1, C2, D1 and D2 district finals will be played  Feb. 25.
Class D2 Point Standings as of Feb. 7—1. FCSH (19-3), 46.5909; 2. Humphrey St. Francis (18-3), 45.7619; 3. St. Mary’s (15-5), 45.0500; 4. Anselmo-Merna (15-5), 45.0500; 5. MHC (21-1), 44.7727; 6. Wynot (12-8), 44.6500; 7. Sterling (15-5), 44.5500; 8. Crawford (15-4), 44.0000; 9. Diller-Odell (12-6), 43.9444; 10. WP (15-5), 43.4500; 21. Wallace (12-7), 41.5263; 29. Paxton (8-11), 40.2105; 40. Dundy County Stratton (1-20), 38.0476. Subdistrict D2-9 in bold.