The Ell-Saline Cardinals suffered a pair of league losses Tuesday evening at Moundridge High School.

In the girls matchup, the Wildcats pounced on a plethora of early Cardinal turnovers to take a commanding 32-10 lead into halftime on their way to a 55-23 victory.

Juniors Kaela Helms and Brittany Stucky led a balanced Moundridge (4-4, 2-1) attack, tallying 12 and ten points respectively.

Ell-Saline (1-8, 0-3) was paced by sophomore Ashton Travis with six points.

Cardinals Kept at Arm’s Length in Boys Battle

In Tuesday’s nightcap, Ell-Saline kept pace with Moundridge throughout the night, but untimely Cardinal turnovers fueled frequent transition opportunities for the Wildcats in a 52-46 Moundridge win.

Ell-Saline (3-6, 1-2) sorely missed sophomore guard Sawyer Kramer, who was sidelined with the flu.  Playing without one of its best ball handlers, the Cardinals turned it over 16 times against Moundridge (5-3, 1-2,) compared to just eight turnovers on the night for the Wildcats.

Despite the miscues, strong work on the offensive glass and solid shooting from beyond the arc kept the Cardinals close throughout the first half, as Ell-Saline trailed by just four at halftime, 29-25.

While the Cardinals took better care of the rock in the second half, turning it over just six times following the break, Moundridge senior Noah Eichelberger stepped up to ensure a Wildcat victory, scoring 13 of his team’s 23 points after intermission, helping Moundridge to keep the lead at arm’s length despite a spirited Cardinal comeback effort, spearheaded by 11 second half points from Ell-Saline senior guard Tel Phelps.

Phelps connected on three, 3-point baskets in the second half on his way to leading Ell-Saline in scoring with 14 points on the night, while senior guard Hunter Kindlesparger banged home four trifectas to finish with 12 points.

Ell-Saline will return to the road Friday evening to tackle a tall order in Elbing against the Berean Academy Warriors – both the boys’ and girls’ squads for Berean entered play Tuesday evening with perfect 8-0 marks on the season.

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