picture courtesy of Brad Anderson
Wamego 74 Abilene Cowgirls 25
WAMEGO – The #1 ranked Wamego Lady Red Raiders led from start to finish Friday night in a dominant performance on Homecoming Night. Wamego was led by Senior, Ashten Pierson, who finished with a game-high 28 points in the victory. She has signed to play softball at Creighton University.
Wamego led 21-9 at the end of the 1st quarter, 39-16 at halftime and 58-25 after 3 quarters. There was a running clock in the final quarter and the 49 point margin at the end of the game was their largest lead. The Lady Red Raiders are now 16-1, 7-0 on the season after the victory.
Abilene fell to 2-14, 1-7 with the loss. The Cowgirls were led by Claira Dannefer, who finished with 6 points. The Nex-Tech Wireless P.O.G. was Junior, Blair Adams, who tied her career-high with 5 points.
Abilene Cowboys 65 Wamego 57 (4 OT)
WAMEGO – Abilene picked up a much needed win Friday night but it was far from easy as the Cowboys needed 4 overtimes to get past their rival. Abilene has now won 3 of their last 4 games at Wamego and needed overtime each time. The Cowboys won 71-70 in 2 OT in 2020 and won 58-52 in 3 OT last season.
Friday night, Abilene trailed for most of regulation. Wamego led 11-8 at the end of the 1st quarter, 24-22 at halftime, and 34-32 after 3 quarters. Cowboy Senior, Grant Waite, tied the game at 39, with a steal and a layup, at the end of regulation.
The end of the first ovetime brought back visions of the TMP loss with a bizarre ending. Abilene was called for a foul with 1 second left in overtime. The Wamego player hit the first free-throw and then was called for a technical for taunting Abilene fans. Abilene Senior, Triston Cottone would hit 1 of 2 free-throws to send game to second overtime, with the score tied at 47.
The two teams remained tied at 49 at the end of 3 overtimes.
In the 4th overtime, the Cowboys fell behind 53-52 with 1:51 to play. Cottone was fouled on a three-pointer and hit all 3 foul shots to start a 7-0 run for the Cowboys. Abilene would get back-to-back steals and layups from Waite and Cottone to put the game away. Cottone finished with a career-high 34 points in the victory. He was the Nex-Tech Wireless Player of the Game. Waite finished with 11 points in the win for the Cowboys. Abilene improved to 9-8, 5-3 with the victory and Wamego fell to 10-7, 4-3. The Cowboys will return home on Valentine’s Day to face Hays.
