Chapman Lady Irish 44 Abilene Cowgirls 40 (2 OT)
Chapman – The Chapman Lady Irish scored the first 5 points of the second overtime and Abilene was never able to recover Tuesday night. Chapman was led by Senior, Shannon Anderson, she scored 5 of her team’s 7 points in the second overtime. Anderson led her team with 16 points and scored 11 of those points in the 4th quarter and the two overtimes. Anderson was the Nex-Tech Wireless Player of the Game for Chapman.
The two Dickinson County rivals struggled all night on the offensive end of the floor. Abilene shot 26% and committed 27 turnovers, while Chapman shot 28% and had 26 turnovers. The Lady Irish led 6-3 at the end of the first quarter and the game was tied at 16 at halftime. There were only 3 combined points scored by the two teams in the 3rd quarter. Abilene took an 18-17 lead into the 4th.
In the final quarter, Sophomore, Claira Dannefer did everything she could to win the game for Abilene. She scored 12 of her game-high 18 points in the 4th quarter. She was the Nex-Tech Wireless Player of the Game for Abilene. Despite Dannefer’s heroics, Chapman was able to tie the game on a Maya Kirkpatrick 3-pointer with 6 seconds left to tie the game at the end of regulation. The two teams were tied at 37 at the end of the first overtime.
Abilene fell to 1-5, 0-2 with the loss and will return to action on January 7, at Marysville. Chapman improved to 2-4, 1-2 and will travel to Clay Center on that same date.
Abilene Cowboys 81 Chapman Irish 24
Chapman – The Chapman Irish were the perfect medicine for the Abilene Cowboys Tuesday night. Abilene had lost two heart-breaking games in a row as they entered the match-up with their rival. The game was up in the air at the start of the week because the Irish postponed their game with Marysville last Friday to January 25. Chapman was short-handed against a very deep Cowboy team and things got even worse for the Irish as they lost Eli Riegel in the first quarter with an ankle injury.
The game was over in the first couple minutes of the 1st quarter. Chapman scored the first 2 points but then Abilene would score 28 in a row. The Cowboys led 23-2 at the end of the first quarter, 43-14 at halftime and 62-22 after three quarters. Abilene emptied their bench in the 4th quarter and there was a running clock and they still scored 19 points in the final quarter.
Abilene was led by Kaleb Becker, who finished with a game-high 14 points. He was named the Nex-Tech Wireless Player of the Game along with Grant Waite. Waite scored 8 points but made an immediate impact on the defensive end of the floor as he notched his second start of the season.
Abilene is now 4-2, 1-1 and will travel to Marysville on January 7th. Chapman fell to 0-5, 0-2 and will travel to Clay Center on that same date.
