Brooklyn Richardson came back from an ankle injury to spark Worth County’s girls, but a red hot Gilman City squad was able to put them away 43-34, leaving Worth County still searching for their first win Friday in Trenton. The Tigers will get back Bridgette Hightshoe sometime in January (knee) to get them nine players if they stay healthy.
The Hawks got off to a bad start this year, adjusting to a new coach and dropping games to tough Princeton and Braymer squads, along with Class 2 Albany and Gallatin. They won against North Harrison easily 51-10, but struggled to put away another winless squad, Union Star, before getting the 46-35 win. But all of a sudden, they caught fire, beating a pair of quality opponents in Pattonsburg 52-50 and Northeast Nodaway 37-33. They kept on rolling 49-10 against Southwest Livingston going into Friday’s game.
Worth County, playing the numbers game all year, got Brooklyn Richardson (ankle) back for the game, and she sparked the Tigers early. Gilman City picked up where they left off the last three games as Laina Ward knocked one down from the high post, Ava Langfitt pulled up and hit one after a steal, and Ward hit a free throw to make it 5-0.
But Worth County got right back in the game when Rylee Ruckman found the long three point arc to her liking and then Kynah Steele, inserted at guard for much of the game, converted a three point play after Keira Hardy pushed it ahead to make it 6-5. Ward kept hitting, but then Brooklyn Richardson shot the Tigers into an 11-9 lead at the end of one with a baseline shot and then a drive and three point play.
Kristen Tracy got loose in transition, Richardson hit again, and Tracy got a putback to put the Tigers in front 17-12. But just as it looked like they would get their first win, the Hawks started taking control, flying to the glass on offense and denying Worth County any second chances on defense. Swarming and crashing the boards hard, they got four from Ericka Burke and a coast to coast look from Langfitt as they took an 18-17 lead at the half.
Like the boys, the Hawks had a lot of bodies they can throw on the floor, and it started to pay off as the third quarter turned into a track meet. Laina Ward scored from inside, then Avery Gregg and Ava Langfitt both scored in transition as the Hawks took a 24-17 lead to start the third.
Rylee Ruckman broke the run with a 3-pointer and then cleaned up on a miss to make it 24-22, but then Avery Gregg started taking over, cutting inside twice and adding a 3-pointer before Laina Ward’s free throw put the Hawks up 31-26 after three.
Kynah Steele had the hot hand for the Tigers early in the fourth quarter, getting five in the first three minutes to cut it to 33-31, but then Ava Langfitt started taking over, getting six down the stretch as the Hawks closed out the game with a 10-0 run to lead by as much as 43-31 before Ruckman’s triple cut it to nine. But then Gilman City ran out the last 1:11 of the game to close out the win.
Although Worth County was able to keep their turnovers down to 19, down from 25 a game earlier in the season, they could not buy a board as they gave up 23 offensive boards to the Hawks Friday. Although the effort was there, all the extra possessions added up in the end.
Rylee Ruckman had 11 points. Kristen Tracy had 10, Brooklyn Richardson 7, and Kynah Steele 6. Now that they have four scoring options on the floor, the goal will be to try to find a fifth.
Kynah Steele had 2 blocks. Rylee Ruckman and Riley Ridge had 1 each.
Kynah Steele had 8 boards. Kristen Tracy had 6, Riley Ridge 4, Kambree Briner and Rylee Ridge 3, Keira Hardy 2, and Brooklyn Richardson 1.
Kynah Steele had 5 assists. Keira Hardy, Kambree Briner, and Kristen Tracy had 2 and Brooklyn Richardson and Rylee Ruckman 1.
It was on the defensive end that Richardson left her mark on the game. Together with Kynah Steele, she was able to get their hands on a ton of passes, denying the Hawks any offensive rhythm for much of the game. That kept the Tigers in the game despite their struggles on the boards.
Kynah Steele had 10 tips. Brooklyn Richardson had 8, Kambree Briner 4, Rylee Ruckman and Keira Hardy 3, and Riley Ridge and Kristen Tracy 2.
Kynah Steele and Brooklyn Richardson had 2 steals. Kambree Briner, Rylee Ruckman, and Kristen Tracy had 1.
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