Lady Tigers Doubled Win Total From Last Year, Won 18

Worth County was ousted by Platte Valley in the first round of districts 44-40 Tuesday, February 24th. The effort was there, but they were once again ice-cold from the field. Kristen Tracy missed a shot in the high post that would have tied it, and Worth County overextended itself trying to foul as Platte Valley cashed in at the other end as time expired.

Rylee Ruckman scored 12 points in her final game. Audrey Runde also had 12, while Megan Tracy had 6, Kristen Tracy 6, and Kambree Briner 4.

Kristen Tracy had 5 boards, as did Rylee Ruckman and Kambree Briner. Briner had 5 assists. Rylee Ruckman had 4 steals. Worth County shot better from distance than from inside the arc; they were 9 for 25 from the 3-point line to stay in the game, while they were 4 for 17 from inside the circle. They only made eight trips to the line, making five.

Worth County won 18 games for the season, the most they had since the Anna Gladstone era in 2019-2020. They started out by beating Mercer 38-30, a game that looked ugly at the time with Mercer having a long year the year before but which looked better as the season progressed with the Cards going on to win 19 games. They looked like they would dominate the area, beating Platte Valley, Stanberry, and Albany in the Albany Tournament to win it. They beat North Nodaway and NEN to run their record to 6-0, but then proceeded to drop their next three and fall out of the conference race with losses to King City and Albany.

They righted the ship with wins over Braymer, North Andrew, Stanberry again, and North Nodaway again. They fell to Stanberry, only to avenge their loss to King City at the Stanberry Tournament to take third place.

They proceeded to beat 20-win Princeton 30-27, in a game in which Briner was the only player from either squad who was hitting her shots. They trailed by 10 against North Harrison in the fourth quarter, only to come back to win 43-37. They only trailed by three to Rock Port going into the fourth before falling by 13. They put Nodaway Valley away early, then hung a season-high 62 on an improving Pattonsburg squad to run their win total to nine out of 11.

But sometimes, hitting a peak performance can be followed by a letdown, and Worth County fell to St. Joseph Christian 38-32 before falling to 23-win Mound City 46-37. They righted the ship against South Holt and looked on their way to beating East Atchison when Kambree Briner reinjured a shoulder that she had injured in softball the summer before. Without Briner in the lineup, they struggled to take care of the ball as Briner would always occupy the defense and force them to guard her, opening everyone else up. Teams could afford to be a lot more aggressive with her on the bench. They barely hung on and won against a 10-win East Atchison squad, posted a solid win against Platte Valley, but fell hard against a Maysville squad that enjoyed their best season in a while.

They got Briner back for districts, but Platte Valley has always elevated their game come district time and had girls that had not scored all year step up and score in the district game.

The Tigers lose Ruckman and Rayleigh Smith, but get back Megan Tracy, Kristen Tracy, Kambree Briner, Keira Hardy, and Audrey Runde. Kynlee Steele showed the ability to grab rebounds off the bench, while Kennedy Murphy could be a force on the boards in the future as well. Incoming freshman Brooklyn Smith is playing travel ball whenever she can and has the potential to be one of the best players the Tigers have ever produced. The goal of the Tigers will be to get more players out for basketball so they can have more depth. Platte Valley, which beat Worth County in districts, had 21 players out for basketball, while Worth County only had nine.

 

Caleb New Has 42 as Tigers Win Rubber Game of Platte Valley Series

Worth County won a wild 78-66 game over Platte Valley Thursday in district semifinals as Caleb New had a new career high of 42 points just a few games after he had an earlier career high of 40. The Tigers needed an extra period after they couldn’t close it out at the end of regulation, but made most of their free throws in the extra period to get the win.

At first, it looked like it would be the massacre of 2024, in which Platte Valley beat Worth County 79-28 in districts with many of the same players on both teams participating in that game. Everything Platte Valley threw up in the first quarter went in as they built up a 20-11 lead after the first quarter. Caleb New had 7 points in the period in a futile effort to stem the tide. At the end of the first period, Worth County only had three rebounds, and they only had two people in the scoring column offensively.

Five straight by Caleb New and a triple by Cole Ruby righted the ship in the second quarter as Worth County showed a lot of growth in that period by responding to a big quarter with one of their own. Dylan Smith got a steal and fed Brock Healy, who threw it to New for three, which knotted the game at 22.

The game was tied at 24 before Brock Healy slashed and scored, Caleb New hit a 3-pointer, Brock Healy took a charge on 6’5” behemoth Andy Mattson, Caleb New slashed and scored after Dylan Smith got an offensive board, and Hayden Sanders kept a ball alive and fed Brock Healy at the halftime buzzer to put the Tigers in front 34-24 at the half.

But then Platte Valley, which always elevates its game come district time, started coming back as Grady Gockel had a big third quarter and was joined in the scoring column by Ezra Morriss. Worth County got their fourth and fifth players in the scoring column, but their lead steadily shrunk until Dylan Klamm got a steal with 59 seconds left in the period to put Platte Valley in front 42-41. Ryder Smyser hit a free throw, drawing Grady Gockel’s fourth foul, and Caleb New hit a backdoor layup, but Worth County pulled the trigger too soon as Morriss countered with a guarded three to put Platte Valley back in front 45-44.

Platte Valley leading scorer Grady Gockel was on the bench with foul trouble, but it was Platte Valley who came out of the gate strong as Andy Mattson cashed in a lob and they also got baskets from Mason Holaday and Aiden McQueen to go up 53-50 before back to back jacks by Caleb New put the Tigers back in front 56-53. Grady Gockel came back to knot it at 56, but Brock Healy drove and scored to make it 58-56, and Ezra Morriss could only make one out of two to make it 58-57.

Hayden Sanders took a charge on defense and Brock Healy slashed and scored after a third-chance possession with 42 seconds. That made it 60-57. Ezra Morriss drove and scored with 17 seconds left, only for Brock Healy to counter with two free throws to make it 52-59 with 10.9 seconds left.

Platte Valley took it to their end and called a timeout to set up a play. They got it into Grady Gockel, and despite a defender on him, he leaped as high as he ever had in his life and drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer, forcing Worth County to win it all over again.

But Worth County was up to the task as they started piling stop after stop and cashing in on the other end. Caleb New went backdoor to score off a pass from Ryder Smyser, Brock Healy hit a free throw, and Caleb New added two to make it 67-62. Ezra Morriss countered with free throws to make it 67-64, but Ryder Smyser was hammered on a putback try and made both tries to make it 69-64. Following another stop, Platte Valley was forced to start fouling and Caleb New hit four straight at the line, Ryder Smyser got loose in transition as Platte Valley overextended trying to get the ball back, Brock Healy hit two free throws, Cole Ruby hit one, and Cole Ruby then stole the ball to seal the game.

Caleb New had 42 points for the Tigers. Brock Healy had 18, Cole Ruby 8, Hayden Sanders 5, and Brock Healy 5.

 

Tiger Boys Cap Off Up And Down Season With Second Place Finish in Districts

Worth County’s boys saw their season come to an end Saturday when a frantic 26-point rally in the fourth quarter fell short and they fell 58-51 to Rock Port in the District Finals. The goal is to come back with a chip on their shoulder next year and never let an opponent celebrate on their home floor again.

The teams went toe to toe in the first half, playing to a 22-22 standoff until Rock Port inbounded it to 6’6” Reid Ellis, who converted a three-point play to put Rock Port in front 25-22 at the half. That play turned out to be a momentum-killer for the Tigers as Rock Port proceeded to score the first 17 points of the third quarter. Worth County would jack up quick shots, miss them, and then give up easy shots at the other end. A full-scale massacre similar to the Platte Valley game of two years ago, where the Tigers lost by 50 in district finals, seemed to be in the cards as Worth County trailed 42-22 at one point.

But after cutting it to 42-25 after three, a different Tiger team took the floor for the fourth quarter. Similar to the Mount Ayr game, in which they nearly overcame impossible odds, they put together a 26-point fourth quarter as Brock Healy got them going with four triples in the first four minutes. Worth County was finally getting results by swarming and pressing Rock Port. But the Blue Jays kept feeding Ellis to break the press and maintain a 56-41 lead with 58 seconds left.

But Brock Holmes fouled Caleb New fighting for a loose ball for his fifth foul and shoved Caleb after the play was over, drawing a technical foul. Caleb New converted three out of four free throws and the Tigers cashed in on the free possession to make it 56-46. Cole Ruby hit a 3-pointer and Caleb New slashed and scored to make it 58-51 before Rock Port was able to hold it out of bounds for the final few seconds as Worth County was out of timeouts.

Caleb New had 20 for the Tigers and Brock Healy 18.

Worth County had nine players who earned spots in Coach Les New’s rotation. They only lose Brayden Combs, while Hayden Sanders, Caleb New, Brock Healy, Jordan Dannar, Ethan Lininger, Ryder Smyser, Cole Ruby, and Dylan Smith return.

Bo Collins, if he comes back out, will provide some needed size along with Smyser and Lininger. He spent the last two seasons nursing football injuries. They will add a big freshman class with stalwarts such as Cole Hardy, Jarrett Gilland, Weston Hill, Silas Brown, Gunnar Smith, and Hudson Cameron waiting in the wings.

The Tigers will seek to add more scoring threats; Caleb New finally showed what he was capable of doing when healthy, while Brock Healy established himself as one of the top freshmen in the conference. They were showing signs of adding more balance down the stretch when they finally started winning.

But Rock Port will return most of their players as well. They only lose Tayden Cook, while defensive stoppers Westyn Amthor and Logan Ellis along with scoring threats Jack Meyerkorth, Brock Holmes, and skyscraper Reid Ellis return.

When Worth County hit the floor on December 8th, just a few days after winning the State Football Championship, they started off by falling behind 4-0 against North Nodaway. But the rest of the game was all Tigers as they ran away with a 55-20 win. They picked up right where they left off in football as they beat Northeast Nodaway 68-37, GRC West contender King City 42-40 in overtime, and held off a frantic Albany rally to win 41-31. They suffered their first loss, 75-72 to Mount Ayr, only to beat 24-win Braymer 42-36 in Trenton.

Worth County was scrambling to find games since they missed two full weeks of basketball thanks to it overlapping with football. They found a game with Maryville and went toe to toe with the Spoofhounds before falling 70-57. But sometimes, so-called “moral victories” can snowball into a long slump, and that’s what happened.

Worth County proceeded to drop their next game to North Andrew, won a squeaker over 9-17 Stanberry and had an injury scare as Caleb New got two teeth knocked loose, recovered with a solid win over NEN, but proceeded to struggle to close out games, falling to North Andrew and Platte Valley.

The Tigers hit a low point with a 61-35 loss to state-ranked Princeton, beat North Harrison 71-40, but continued to struggle in close games, falling by nine to Rock Port, five to Nodaway Valley, and three to Pattonsburg.

But despite battling sickness down the stretch, the Tigers used the Pattonsburg loss as a wake-up call and proceeded to win their next six, holding each opponent to 49 points or less. They won a solid game at St. Joseph Christian, held off a frantic rally to beat Mound City 55-41, got a 40-point effort from Caleb New in a 51-45 win over LeBlond, and finally showed the kind of balance they needed to be effective in a 71-49 win over South Holt.

Their best two games of the year were their 58-37 win over 17-win East Atchison and a 66-36 revenge win over Platte Valley. They struggled in a tough environment at Maysville against a solid team, but recovered to beat North Nodaway and got a 42-point outburst from Caleb New to survive an overtime scare against Platte Valley.

The Tigers nearly doubled their win total of last year, in which everything that could have went wrong did go wrong for them. They finished the year at 16-11.

 

Caleb New Narrowly Misses Triple Double as Tigers Avenge PV Loss

Caleb New narrowly missed a triple-double and Worth County brutally avenged its loss to Platte Valley earlier in the season, beating them 66-36 Thursday. He had 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists, two shy.

It was not a good sign for Platte Valley when six different Tigers got into the act scoring in the early going. Ryder Smyser got a putback and Brock Healy aired one out to Caleb New and got it back in transition for three to make it 5-0. Andy Mattson got a carom and scored and Grady Gockel added a 3-pointer to cut the PV deficit to 7-5, but then Cole Ruby, Brock Healy, and Caleb New hit threes in rapid succession to make it 16-5. Platte Valley’s run to the Stanberry Tournament finals was a distant memory as frustrated skipper Tyler Pedersen burned two timeouts in rapid succession. But then Brayden Combs, who had scored 10 points all season for the Tigers, grabbed an offensive board and scored at the first quarter buzzer to make it 19-7.

Platte Valley did all it could to try to get it into Andy Mattson, who was much taller than anyone Worth County had. But Worth County would swarm the post anytime he tried to catch it down low and got several steals that way.

Grady Gockel did all he could in the second quarter to keep his team close, making one tough shot after another and ripping off nine in rapid succession to keep it at 29-18. But then Brock Healy got the hot hand late despite Platte Valley’s best effort to contain him, and he hit two triples late to put the Tigers up 35-21 at the half.

Platte Valley could take solace in the fact that they had been there before and had come back; they erased a halftime deficit against the Tigers and had won the first time. But Caleb New then got the hot hand and went backdoor off a pass from Ryder Smyser. Brock Healy added a pullup, and then Dylan Smith went coast to coast and hit Caleb New for two, and then Caleb hit a pullup to make it 43-26. Grady Gockel cut it to 43-28, but then Brayden Combs got a putback, Caleb New went coast to coast and found Jordan Dannar for two, and Cole Ruby hit a tough shot in the high post to make it 49-30 after three.

Dylan Klamm hit a 3-pointer early in the fourth and Gockel kept getting on the line, but Worth County got shots from Ryder Smyser, Cole Ruby, and Caleb New to pull away to a 56-35 lead. It was obvious Platte Valley didn’t have it as one of their players dropped an easy pass out of bounds at one point. Platte Valley went to its vaunted press, which has won them countless games under Pedersen and Tim Jermain. But Worth County shredded it as Cole Ruby pushed it ahead to Ryder Smyser, who converted a three point play. Brock Healy hit Caleb New backdoor, and then Platte Valley threw in the towel.

Jordan Dannar scored from inside after Brayden Combs got him the ball, and then Brayden Combs got a career high when he knocked down a triple at the end.

Caleb New had 18 for the Tigers. Brock Healy had 17, Cole Ruby 10, Ryder Smyser and Brayden Combs 7, Jordan Dannar 4, Dylan Smith 2, and Ethan Lininger 1.

Jordan Dannar had 1 block.

Caleb New had 10 boards. Jordan Dannar had 7, Ethan Lininger had 4, Dylan Smith had 3, Ryder Smyser, Brock Healy, and Mason Hiatt 2 each, and Cole Ruby and Tucker Fletchall had 1 each.

Caleb New had 8 assists. Cole Ruby had 5, Brock Healy 3, Ryder Smyser 2, and Jordan Dannar, Dylan Smith, Brayden Combs, and Tucker Fletchall had 1.

Jordan Dannar had 5 tips. Caleb New and Brock Healy had 4, Cole Ruby 3, Ryder Smyser 2, and Ethan Lininger and Tucker Fletchall had 1.

Caleb New had 4 steals. Cole Ruby, Ryder Smyser, and Jordan Dannar 3 each.

 

Kristen Tracy, Audrey Runde Lead Balanced Tiger Attack Over Platte Valley

Worth County’s girls survived a shaky first half and adjusted to life without Kambree Briner (shoulder) as they overcame a swarming Platte Valley press and won on the road 43-35 Tuesday, February 17th.

The first quarter started off well as Audrey Runde knocked one down from the high post, Rylee Ruckman got loose against the press for two, and Kristen Tracy aired one out to Keira Hardy for two to make it 6-3. Platte Valley lobbed it into the post to cut it to 6-5, but Megan Tracy hit a circus shot which bounced off the pole and in to spark the Tigers. Kristen Tracy added two free throws and Keira Hardy, who provided a needed spark in Briner’s absence, knocked down a 3-pointer to make it 14-5.

But a lapse on defense, where Mya Wray went coast to coast and blew by three Tiger defenders as time was winding down, sparked them to start the second. Hannah Klamm continued the Platte Valley run with a triple to start the second, and all of a sudden, it was 14-10. Worth County fell back into the bad habits that nearly cost them against East Atchison, forcing one pass after another and speeding up instead of slowing down against the relentless Platte Valley press.

Megan Tracy cashed in on a steal to put Worth County to make it 16-10, but little else went right as Platte Valley chipped away, getting to within 16-15 after Mya Wray slashed and scored with 31 seconds left. But Audrey Runde provided the spark Worth County needed, grabbing a putback and sticking it back in at the first half buzzer, making it 18-15.

Worth County pulled away in the second half by taking much better care of the ball, turning it over four times in the second half after turning it over 12 times in the first. Megan Tracy started the scoring with a 3-pointer, and then Megan Tracy grabbed an offensive board, got it to Keira Hardy, who fed Kristen Tracy for two to make it 23-15. Platte Valley got a putback to cut it to six, but Audrey Runde went coast to coast, Kristen Tracy knocked one down from the high post, Audrey Runde and Rylee Ruckman hit triples, and Kristen Tracy scored from inside to give Worth County a 35-22 lead late in the third.

But then Hannah Klamm threatened to take over for Platte Valley, going to the rim at will during the next stretch, scoring the next seven points for Platte Valley. Worth County bent, but didn’t break this time as they started running the clock out with five minutes left and chipped away from the line to keep Platte Valley from getting close. Platte Valley got as close as 38-30, but free throws from Megan Tracy and Kristen Tracy made it 40-30 with 1:22 left.

Klamm fouled out down the stretch, but Platte Valley kept coming, finally getting it down to six with 21 seconds left after Mya Wray slashed and converted a three point play to make it 41-35. But Kristen Tracy answered with two free throws with 17 seconds to ice the game.

Audrey Runde and Kristen Tracy had 11 points each. Megan Tracy had 9, Rylee Ruckman 7, and Keira Hardy 5.

Kristen Tracy had 3 blocks and Megan Tracy 2.

Megan Tracy had 12 boards. Rylee Ruckman stepped up in Kambree Briner’s absence, grabbing 10. Kristen Tracy had 9, Audrey Runde 5, and Keira Hardy 2.

Keira Hardy had 5 assists. Kristen Tracy had 4, Megan Tracy and Audrey Runde 2 each, and Rylee Ruckman 1.

Kristen Tracy had 5 tips. Rylee Ruckman had 4, Megan Tracy 2, and Keira Hardy and Audrey Runde 1.

Rylee Ruckman had 4 steals. Kristen Tracy had 3, and Audrey Runde and Megan Tracy had 2.

 

Caleb New Leads Three in Double Figures; Tigers Win Fifth Straight, Play Best Game of the Year

Worth County’s winning streak rolled on, growing to five games Monday as they turned back East Atchison 58-36. The Wolves had recently gone on a nine-game tear in which they had scored 60 or more points in six of those games. But they came into Monday’s game fighting a slump, in which they had dropped games to Albany and Rock Port. They are working on their best season in recent memory, and still have a lot of returning players for next year.

The Tigers were still battling sickness, with Hayden Sanders out and Brock Healy gutting it out. Coach Les New was in survival mode before the game. “Caleb was the one player who was healthy against LeBlond. Everybody else was sick,” he said about Caleb New’s 40-point outburst against the Golden Eagles. The running joke among some of the players was that they and Caleb had combined to score 41 points that night.

Caleb continued to click Monday, getting 20 points despite getting face-guarded all night. Brock Healy was also sick, and was also being face-guarded, but he managed to get 18. Jordan Dannar got his second straight double figure game, and three other Tigers made it into the scoring column. Cole Ruby did not score, but rebounded well and fed everyone else, getting 7 assists.

The game started off well for the Tigers. Carter Oswald knocked down a 3-pointer for the Wolves, but Brock Healy countered with one of his own and Caleb New added a steal and a three point play. Cole Ruby got the ball into Ryder Smyser to make it 8-3.

The Wolves’ high-powered offense started clicking as Mason Kingery and Brody Wennihan both cut inside to score, and Parker Livengood heated up to bring his team to within 13-12 after one. Carter Oswald, their other shooter, started heating up to start the second as he scored the next eight points for the Wolves and shot them into the lead at 20-18 in the second.

But then Brock Healy countered with a 3-pointer for the Tigers to put them back up 21-20, and then Brody Wennihan, the Wolves’ most physical defender, picked up his third foul and sat. Without Wennihan on the floor, the Tigers found a lot more daylight. The Tigers only outscored East Atchison by two when he was on the floor and outscored them by 20 when he was on the bench with foul trouble.

Healy promptly hit another triple for the Tigers and then Caleb New went coast to coast after Cole Ruby fed him a quick outlet. Mason Kingery countered with a putback for the Wolves, but Brock Healy hit his third triple of the quarter to put the Tigers in front 29-22 at the half.

But Wennihan came back for the Wolves to start the second half. Caleb New’s triple put the Tigers up 32-24 early in the third, but with Wennihan hounding the Tigers on defense, the Wolves began to come back as they went on a 5-0 run to close to within 32-29.

After Wennihan picked up his fourth foul trying to help out on Caleb New, Caleb hit both free throws to restore order for the Tigers. Caleb New found daylight without him on the floor and took on three defenders and scored to make it 36-29. Mason Kingery countered with a putback, but Brock Healy drove and set up Dylan Smith for a baseline jumper to put the Tigers in front 38-31 after three.

Jordan Dannar slashed and scored after Cole Ruby got him the ball to start the fourth. Dylan Smith converted a third-chance putback try after Ethan Lininger had kept it alive, and Caleb New got loose for three to make it 45-31.

But Wennihan was still making his presence felt, and it was still carrying over to the other players. Kingery, a post player, jumped out on a ball screen and got a steal, converting it on the other end to make it 45-33. East Atchison started swarming and pressing with under five minutes to make up their deficit, and anything was still possible.

But the bottom dropped out for the Wolves after Wennihan fouled out trying to help on Ryder Smyser in the post, and he knocked down both free throws. Jordan Dannar showed a newfound ability to score in bunches, starting with a pair of free throws, hitting a 3-pointer, and getting a steal to make it 54-33. Caleb New added two more free throws to make it 56-33, and the Tigers were able to run out the clock for the win.

Caleb New had 20 points for the Tigers. Brock Healy had 18, Jordan Dannar 11, Ryder Smyser and Dylan Smith 4, and Ethan Lininger 2.

Caleb New and Brock Healy had 1 block each.

Cole Ruby had 6 boards. Ryder Smyser and Caleb New 4, Ethan Lininger and Dylan Smith 3, Jordan Dannar 2, and Brayden Combs, Brock Healy, and Mason Hiatt 1.

Cobe Ruby had 7 assists. Caleb New and Brock Healy had 3 and Brayden Combs and Dylan Smith had 2.

Caleb New had 3 tips. Ryder Smyser, Cole Ruby, and Mason Hiatt had 1.

Caleb New had 4 steals. Brock Healy had 3, Brayden Combs and Cole Ruby had 2, and Ryder Smyser, Ethan Lininger, and Jordan Dannar had 1.