Picture courtesy of Jenna Hull

It was game 2 of the Tri-County Classic as the Ell-Saline Cardinals would travel to Belleville to take on the Republic County Buffalos. The lady Buffs would take the girls game 45-32 and the Cardinals would take the night cap 59-42.

GIRLS: REPUBLIC COUNTY 45, ELL-SALINE 32

It was not the lady Cards night as they would struggle to knock down shots. They would fight hard and not give up but would come up short as they would fall to the Lady Buffs 45-32.

Even though Ell-Saline would struggle offensively they would hang with the lady Buffs in the 1st quarter as sophomore Aubrey Smith would hit a big three. Republic County would lead 14-9 after the first quarter.

Lady Buffs senior Tallyn Melton would erupt in the 2nd quarter as she would connect with 3 of her 6 three pointers on the nights and Republic County would outscore the lady Cards 14-8 in the frame. Republic County would take a 29-17 lead into the locker room.

Coming out of halftime both teams would struggle to get things going as it was a back and forth battle with the lady Buffs winning the 3rd quarter 9-4.

Ell-Saline would really find their shot in the 4th quarter as they would outscore the lady Buffs 11-7 in the final 8 minutes. In the end the comeback would come up short and the lady Buffs would pull out the home win 45-32.

Aubrey Smith led the way for the lady Cardinals in the loss as she ended the night with 7 points.

Tallyn Melton would finish the night with a game high 18 points for the lady Buffs all coming from the perimeter . Dakota Clausen-Peters would also find double digits as she would knock down 13.

Ell-Saline drops to 1-2 on the season and will finish up the Tri-County Classic Saturday afternoon as they travel to Bennington to take on Lady Bulldogs. Republic County moves to 2-2 on the season and will finish up Saturday against the Minneapolis Lions in Bennington.

 

CITY PLUMBING HEATING AND COOLING PLAYER OF THE GAME: Aubrey Smith (7 Points)

 

BOX SCORE

ELL-SALINE (1-2) – 9 – 8 – 4 – 11 / 32

REPUBLIC COUNTY (2-2) –14 – 15 – 9 – 7 / 45

 

Individual Scoring

Ell-Saline – Aubrey Smith 7, Marcella Garber/Paisley Jensen/Aubree Stout 6, Genna Stetler 4, Bret Hecker 2, Lauren Taylor 1.

Republic County – Tallyn Melton 18, Dakota Clausen-Peters 13, Giada Smith 5, Kylie Stone 4, Addison Couture 3, Gracie Franey 2.

BOYS: #3-2A ELL-SALINE 59, #7-2A REPUBLIC COUNTY 42

Both teams would come into the match up ranked in Class 2A, Ell-Saline is ranked #3 and Republic County ranked #7 and coming off a win against a ranked Bennington team on Tuesday night 47-20. Ell-Saline would use a big night from senior Collin Dent who finished with 18 points as they would win the battle of ranked teams 59-42.

It was back and forth for most the first quarter as the Ell-Saline Cardinals would have a slight lead 14-11 after one.

It was the same thing for much of the 2nd quarter as both teams would just trade baskets as the biggest lead was 6 points by Ell-Saline. The Cardinals would take a 24-19 lead into halftime.

Seniors Trey Williams and Kas Kramer would pour in on after halftime for the Cardinals as they would account for 12 of the 14 Ell-Saline points. Republic County would not go away but foul trouble would help the Cardinals lead by 9 after 3.

Ell-Saline would score 21 points in the 4th quarter as they would start to pull away from the Buffalos and the Cardinals would stay undefeated on the season with a 59-42 win.

Ell-Saline was led in scoring on the evening by Collin Dent who finished the night with a game high 18 points. Trey Williams (15), Kas Kramer (14) and Reese Krone (10) would all finish with double figures in the win.

Connor Martin would finish with a team high 16 points in the loss for Republic County. Aden Morris would chip in 11 as the other Buffalo to reach double digits.

Ell-Saline moves to 3-0 on the season and will finish up the Tri-County Classic Saturday afternoon as they travel to Bennington to take on a ranked Bulldogs team. Republic County falls to 3-1 on the season and will finish up Saturday against the Minneapolis Lions in Bennington.

 

CITY PLUMBING HEATING AND COOLING PLAYER OF THE GAME: Collin Dent (18 Points)

 

BOX SCORE

ELL-SALINE (3-0) – 14 – 10 – 14 – 21 / 59

REPUBLIC COUNTY (3-1) –11 – 8 – 8 – 15 / 42

 

Individual Scoring

Ell-Saline – Collin Dent 18, Trey Williams 15, Kas Kramer 14, Reese Krone 10, Landon May 2.

Republic County – Connor Martin 16, Aden Morris 11, Greyson Novak 7, Grady Siemsen 4, Carson Struebing/ Brennan Zahm 2.