O'Neill Eagles Defeat Crofton

David Akainda hustles down the floor on Tuesday, Dec. 20. The Eagles defeated Crofton 71-45.

St. Mary's Cardinals Now 6-0 On Season

Tyler Timmerman takes a shot in action against Hartington last Thursday evening. The Cards defeated Hartington 61-25.

TY EILER dribbles down the floor in action against Hartington Thursday evening. 

The St. Mary’s Cardinals boys varsity improved their season record to 6-0 with two victories prior to the Christmas break. On Monday Dec. 19, the Cards traveled to Spalding/Spalding Academy and defeated the Knights 70-45. The Cardinal defense took charge of the game early as St. Mary’s held the high scoring Knights offense to six points and took a 26-6 first quarter lead.

  Senior center Tom Chvala had a career night for St. Mary’s scoring 25 points as his teammates found him open in the low post continually. Senior Tait Sibbel added 14 tallies for the Cards. Chvala also led the rebounding with 15 boards while Sibbel and sophomore Adam Moon added nine and six rebounds respectively. Sibbel also led the assist column with eight while Ty Eiler and Tyler Timmerman added five and four assists. Eiler and Timmerman also led the defense with four and three steals respectively while Chvala recorded three blocked shots.

  On Thursday, Dec. 22 St. Mary’s traveled to Hartington High School for a make up contest and defeated the Wildcats 61-25. The Cards were able to take a 17-4 first quarter lead and never looked back as the defense again took control early in the contest.

  Senior Tait Sibbel led the offense with 24 points while Tom Chvala and Connor Connot chipped in with eight points apiece. Chvala led the rebounding with 10 caroms while Aaron Ohri and Adam Moon pulled down 8 boards each. Junior point guard Ty Eiler liked the Wildcat 1-3-1 zone as he found teammates 13 times for assists. Eiler also led the defense with four steals while Sibbel added three blocked shots. 

   The Cardinals are playing in the Crofton Holiday Tournament this Thursday and Friday. Hope everyone has a happy and prosperous New Year.

JV Lady Cards Record 7th Victory

The junior varsity Lady Cards ran away with their seventh win of the season as they ripped the nets for 57 points against the junior varsity from Spalding/Spalding Academy. Our free throw shooting was the best it has ever been as a team. Shooting over 70 percent on 15-21 shots from the stripe. Erin Boyle and Alejandra Vergara stole the ball away from S/SA seven times each. Leading the scoring attack were Emily Everitt, Addie Wetzel and Mackenzie Wecker with 11, 11 and 10 points. As a team we hauled in 37 rebounds led by Addie W., Erin B., Krissy Krotter, Marisa Miles and Emily Everitt. These five players accounted for 32 of the boards. Erin and Addie each blocked a shot. Turn-overs were very low as we only committed nine and stole the ball away from S/SA 28 times. 

       This was another team effort with every player seeing a lot of action.

St. Mary's Varsity Lady Cards Push Record To 5-0

Sarah Vandersnick goes up for a shot in action against Hartington last Thursday evening.

With wins over Neligh-Oakdale, North Central and Spalding/Spalding Academy, the SMH Lady Cards keep their undefeated record in tact. Tuesday, Dec. 13, SMH played host to N-O in a very close contest on the hardwood court. Leading the team in scoring was Brooke Bauer and Justine Blumenstock with 14 and 10 points. Bridget Schneider led SMH in steals and assists with three and four on the night. Brooke also pulled down nine boards in the win. Others scoring points in the 55-53 win were Mackenzie Wecker three, Jessi Simmons seven, Megan Schneider three, Emily Everitt three, Bridget Schneider seven, and Jessi Pongratz eight.

        Next up were the North Central Knights who traveled to O'Neill for a game in front of the home fans. St. Mary's Lady Cards started with a high pressure defense that never let up all night. This great defensive effort gave SMH a 48-21 victory over the Lady Knights. North Central was held in check on offense which kept them away from scoring on their end of the court. North Central was able to make it to the charity stripe 16 times while SMH only had three shots from the line. A big factor for SMH was the 26 points posted in the paint, along with much improved perimeter shooting as a team. Points off our bench were a big factor as well. 

       Leading scorers for SMH in the Niobrara Valley Conference victory, were Jessi Simmons, Megan Schneider and Bridget Schneider with 11, nine and seven points. Brooke and Justine hit the boards hard and snatched in 15 rebounds between them. Addie Wetzel and Justine each had a blocked shot. 

       SMH Lady Cards hit the road and traveled to Spalding taking on another team of Lady Knights from Spalding/Spalding Academy. St. Mary's recorded their fifth victory of the young season by a score of 62-48. Brooke Bauer led all scorers with 26 points. 

       These games have all been won because of the great team effort and how well our players get along as a team. Every team member has contributed to these victories.