DAYKIN, Neb. - High Plains won both legs of Tuesday night’s Crossroads Conference basketball doubleheader in Daykin in a pair of games that were about as different as possible: the Storm girls squeaked out a win in a game that came down to the wire while the Storm boys set the running clock into effect in the third quarter and coasted to a road win.  

 

GIRLS BASKETBALL: High Plains (14-6) defeats Meridian (5-14) 48-45 

It was a close game that was underscored by drama, much of it entirely unexpected. Meridian was still feeling the effects of an illness that limited minutes for some players, while a different illness rendered High Plains completely without the services of one of its players. Then, once the game actually started, both teams suffered more setbacks: the Mustangs lost senior Taelyn Filipi to an injury 32 seconds into the game, knocking her out for the rest of the contest, and then the Storm lost senior Emma Brown, who picked up three fouls in the game’s first six minutes, electing to keep her on the sidelines until the stretch run.  

And that move proved prudent for High Plains because the two shorthanded squads were locked into a battle throughout. The game was played within four points for almost the entire night before the Storm scored the final nine points of the third quarter to take a 37-32 lead into the final frame. With Brown back in the game, the Mustangs did not falter, fighting back again to take a 45-44 lead. But ultimately Brown, typically the team’s top scorer, picked off a pass and set up Gavvy Lesiak for a transition bucket with less than 90 seconds to play, and that proved to be the winning basket in the 48-45 win.  

Jaylee Sobotka starred as usual for the Mustangs, leading all players with 20 points and coming close to her tenth double-double of the season, while Kendall Filipi stepped up in her sister’s absence with 11 points off the bench. Peyton Hofmann was strong in transition and led the Storm with 16 points; she was joined in double figures by Courtney Carlston with 13 points and Lesiak with 11.  

 

BOYS BASKETBALL: High Plains (13-5) defeats Meridian (2-16) 58-33 

Despite a poorer than expected showing in their conference tournament that snapped a long winning streak to start the year, and even with two core upperclassmen out due to injury, High Plains lived up to its name on Tuesday and stormed past the Mustangs, turning on the running clock in the middle stages of the third quarter and cruising to the finish line. 

Big runs were the story in this game: High Plains pulled off three separate scoring runs of ten straight points or more, including a stretch through the end of the first quarter and into the second where they ballooned a 10-6 lead into a 26-6 lead. From there, the visitors never looked back. Meridian kept up the fight and finished strong in the fourth quarter, nearly halving their largest deficit against some of the Storm’s reserves as a Mustang squad without any seniors looks to continue to build for the future.  

Maddox Haake finished strong in the fourth quarter to lead the Mustangs with 12 points, just edging past Jayton Jones’ 11. High Plains senior Ayden Hans nailed three threes and led all players with 19 points while Brodey Spurling scored 13. 

 

UP NEXT: High Plains vs. East Butler, 6/7:30 PM, on Friday, February 7 

Meridian @ Osceola, 6/7:30 PM, on Friday, February 7 

 

NEXT ON OL RED: EMF @ Diller-Odell on Thursday, February 13