Cardinal Basketball has challenging week

Waitsburg builds teamwork and skills over season WAITSBURG – Waitsburg basketball fans received plenty of action as the Cardinals played four games last week.

Waitsburg Cardinals vs Highland Scotties

Playing against Highland in Waitsburg on Tuesday, December 10, the varsity boys played a hard-fought game but finished one point short, losing 31-30. Logan Seal was the high scorer with 11 points, and Teegan Kenney pulled 14 rebounds.

"Highland was a step in the right direction. I think we realized little mistakes, falling asleep on defense, and being careless on offense will hurt us. We must play a full 32 minutes to be successful. But they showed heart and did not give up, and we had multiple chances to win in the final moments," said Boys Basketball Coach Westin Wallace.

The varsity girls and junior varsity (JV) boys lost to Highland 28-12 and 33-19, respectively. Alyssa Hollingsworth led the girls with nine points, and Kaydance Tiner rebounded eight. Landon Henry scored 11 points and had nine rebounds in the JV boys' game.

Prescott Tigers vs Cardinals

Despite a rocky first quarter, the Cardinal varsity boys beat the Tigers in Prescott 49-24 on Thursday, December 12. The boys started pushing the ball, and eventually, good shots started falling. Coach Wallace was proud of his team's resilience in getting the win. Seal scored 16, and JJ Gleason had 15 points.

The Lady Cardinals lost to the Tigers 26-15, with Hollingsworth leading the team in scoring. The JV boys got their first win of the season, 42-14. Bryer Paul scored 14 points in the win, including three 3-point shots. 

Cardinals vs. Oaksdale Nighthawks

On Kison Court on Friday, December 13, all three teams struggled offensively against Oakesdale. The varsity boys lost 80-19, the varsity girls were defeated with a score of 71-9, and the JV boys lost 55-33.

"Sometimes teams are just bigger, faster, and stronger. Credit to Oakesdale, as they know how to play good basketball. We tried to draw fouls, we did not get the calls, and I think our legs were toast after a long week," said Coach Wallace. "The boys did not make excuses but said they needed to play harder. That is more important to me than getting those foul calls because that mentality is a culture builder," he added.

The teams traveled to Colton on Saturday, December 14, and although it was a little uglier defensively than Coach Wallace would have liked, his boys played hard, stuck to the game plan, and won 50-48.

Wallace's varsity team made more transition baskets and free throws than they had all season. Wallace recognized Kenney and Henry, saying they had breakout games. Kenney scored 10 points and many rebounds, Henry scored 11 points, and Gleason led the team with 12 points.

Girls Basketball Coach Kira Waggoner said it was a long week. The girls lost to Colton 67-17. She commended Olivia Kiefel for doing a great job driving to the hoop and finishing with her free throws.  

"The scores are not going our way, but the girls are having fun. We are going to work hard at practice and use these games to keep improving," said Kira Waggoner.

The Cardinals' next home game will be Friday, December 20, against Tekoa-Rosalia.