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The Avon Pirates hosted the Burke Cougars last Friday, Feb. 25 for their last regular game of the season, falling short 34-63.
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Andes Central/Dakota Christian Lady Thunder traveled to Plankinton Tuesday, February 22nd. Their season came to an end after they fell to Mt. Vernon/ Plankinton 48-57 in the first round of Region 5A basketball. Good job on a great season Lady Thunder!
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Karstyn Lhotak finishes second. Photography by Denelle.
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The Lady Raiders hosted their final regular season game on parents’ night last Friday night against the Platte-Geddes Black Panthers. Wagner would jump out to an early 8-0 lead. Wagner would post a 12-4 lead after the first quarter. Wagner would extend their lead to 30-16 at the end of the first half. Wagner’s defense would stifle the Panthers in the second half allowing them only 6 points while the Raiders would score another 28 winning the game 58-22. Wagner would shoot 23-45 from the field for 51% while holding the Panthers to just 8-40 for 20%. Wagner would control the glass 31-21 and only commit 10 turnovers compared to 18 from Platte. Ashlyn Koupal would lead all scorers with 20 points, 9 boards, and a block. Shalayne Nagel would add 14 points, 4 boards, dish out 5 assists, and swat 4 shots. Emma Yost would be the third Raider in double figures with 12 points, 6 boards, and dish out 5 assists. Eve Zephier would net 7 points, dish out a game high 6 assists, , grab 3 boards, and come away with 4 steals. Lydia Yost would finish with 3 points. Macy Koupal would round out the scoring with 2 points, grab 4 boards, come away with 4 steals, and have 1 blocked shot. “What great way to end the regular season on a high note. We started out sluggish in the first quarter. We didn’t take care of the ball and had 8 of our 10 turnovers in the first half, most which were in the first quarter. After that we moved the ball and got great looks at the basket. Defensively we did an awesome job on their bigs inside holding them to only 15 points. We kept them off the glass and pressured them into some turnovers just in the half court. A huge shout out to Jessica Kocer. It’s been a long journey to this point for her since she has been with us since 7th grade. We couldn’t ask for a better leader, student in the classroom, teammate, and player! Jessica has the skills to be successful at whatever she puts her mind to. We all wish her the best of luck in the future after her career here at Wagner. Another thank you to all the parents for allowing their daughters to be part of our basketball program. Thanks for all of your support!”
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The Lady Raiders opened up their region play in the second round of Region 5A girls basketball action last Thursday night. Being the #1 seed in the region they received a bye opening round and hosted their only defeat on the year, the Hanson Beavers. The game would start out slow with both teams countering each other but Wagner would hold a 10-6 advantage. Wagner would open things up in the second out scoring the Beaver 14-5 and holding a 24-11 lead at the half. Almost a nearly identical score from the previous meeting back in late January but this time it would favor the Raiders. Hanson would go away with out a fight. They would force the Raiders to turn the ball over 19 times in the game, most of them in the second half and get some easy transition points to keep them in the game. Wagner would push it’s lead to as much as 14 in the third but the Beavers would always find ways to cut it back to 10. They wouldn’t get any closer than that the rest of the way. Wagner would hold the Beavers at bay and come away with a 48-36 victory. Emma Yost would lead Wagner with 17 points, 13 boards and dish out 3 assists. Ashlyn Koupal would add 11 off the bench, grab 7 boards, and come away with 2 steals. Shalayne Nagle would be the 3rd Raider in double figures with 10 points, 9 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. Macy Koupal would follow that with 8 points and 9 boards. Eve Zephier would round out the scoring with 2 points while also dishing out 2 assists. Wagner was 21-51 from the field for 41% while the Beavers were held to just 12-40 for 30%. Wagner dominated the glass with a 42-19 advantage. Wagner would commit 19 turnovers to just 8 from the Beavers. “This was a great team effort offensively and defensively. Defensively we did a great job in the half court. Need to stop dribble penetration a bit better by forcing players to their weak hand. Offensively once in the half court we did exactly what we wanted in our game plan, take open shots, get offensive rebounds, try to get one on one looks inside. We didn’t shoot well from the perimeter but taking those shots allowed us to get 18 offensive boards. We got some put back opportunities where when we met the first time we only had 3 offensive boards on a 30% shooting night. Big difference right there. We willed our way to victory right there by just out working them. We take care of the ball, we easily hold them in the 20’s and the game could have gotten ugly at the end. We held our composure and when they went man, we did a great job of finishing and redeeming ourselves from our only loss. We live to see another day. This is what it’s all about in the post-season. You must have that will to find a way to get things done to give your self an opportunity to win and we did just that! Great job ladies! Thank you to all the community for their support and those who were at the game! It’s nice to see the stands full and cheering these young ladies on!”
Read moreThe Red Raiders traveled to Burke on Thursday night to take on the Cougars. Wagner got down 11-0 to start the game but played well late in the first period and cut the lead to 16-12. The Red Raiders outscored Burke by 7 in the second period and led 29-26 at half time. The game remained close throughout the second half, Wagner led 46- 44 after three quarters of play and the game was tied at 55 a the end of regulation forcing an overtime period. Burke outscored Wagner 13-5 in overtime making the final score 68-60. Toby Zephier led the boys with 19 points, Dustin Honomichl added 17. Carter Cournoyer scored 9, Chris Nelson 6, Preston McFayden 5, Ted Slaba and Matt Link each scored 2.
Read moreThe Red Raider JV team lost a close game to Burke’s JV on Thursday night. The Red Raiders had trouble scoring early on in the game and were trailing 7-2 after the first period. Wagner made a few more shots in the second quarter and trailed 19-11 at the half. The Red Raiders outscored Burke 10-6 in the third quarter and trailed 25-21 heading into the final period. Wagner kept the game close but could not get a lead late and lost 31-28. Carter Cournoyer had 10 points, Preston McFayden 9, Glenn Cournoyer 3, Joey Cournoyer 3, Parker Petry 2 and Ted Slaba 1.
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