The Abilene Cowgirls were on a roll early this season as they got off to a 6-1 start and a 3-0 record in the NCKL while beating league opponents by an average of 26 points.  That changed on January the 13th as Abilene lost at Clay Center 51-44.  The Lady Tigers snapped the Cowgirl’s 20 game winning streak against league opponents in that game and also their own three game slide against Abilene.

         Abilene was able to get revenge Friday night as they upset Clay Center.  The Lady Tigers entered the game with an 18-0 record and ranked #1 in 4A Division II.  The Cowgirl’s McKenzie Funston got off to a quick start as she scored nine of her 18 points in the opening quarter which helped the Abilene take an 18-16 advantage into the second quarter. In that quarter, it was all about defense for Abilene as they held Clay Center to only two points which helped Abilene build a 27-18 halftime lead.  The Cowgirls would extend the lead to 39-28 going into the fourth.  Abilene would then take their biggest lead of the game at 41-28 on a Jessica Hayes basket with 7:45 to play.  The Lady Tigers battled back going on a 15-4 run to get to within 45-43 with 6.2 left on an Allie Wright Fredrick bucket, but that is as close as they would get as Abilene held on for the victory. 

        Funston led all scorers on the night but the Cowgirls also got a big game from Senior Jessica Hayes who finished with 13 points and 8 rebounds.  The Lady Tigers were led by Wright-Fredrick who scored 15 points.  With the win, Abilene improved to 13-6, 7-2 while Clay Center dropped to 18-1, 8-1.

        In the second game of the night the Abilene Cowboys defeated Clay Center for a 17th straight time 61-50.  Abilene led by as much as 21 points in the third quarter.  The Tigers opened the fourth quarter on a 13-5 run and pulled to within 49-45 on an Anthony Atkinson Enneking basket with 2:45 to play.  Abilene would score from the foul line to regain control of the game on their way to the 11 point win.

       Abilene was led by Senior Parker Base who finished with 17 points.  The Cowboys also got 12 points from Ryan Wilson.  The Tigers were led by Atkinson Enneking who scored a game high 18 points. 

       Abilene improved to 16-3, 7-2 while Clay Center fell to 3-16, 0-9. Abilene will wrap up the regular season next Tuesday at Chapman while Clay Center travels to Concordia.