Pictures courtesy of Jenna Hull
The Ell-Saline Cardinals opened up the Eli J. Walter Invitational tonight as they would travel to Belleville for the opening night in the north pool. Ell-Saline Cardinals boys were up first as they took on the Bennington Bulldogs and the lady Cards followed as they took on the Republic County Lady Buffs.
BOYS: #2-2A ELL-SALINE 57, BENNINGTON 37
The Ell-Saline Cardinals came into the tournament the #1 seed in the north pool for the second straight year and drew the #4 seed the Bennington Bulldogs in the first round. Ell-Saline won an earlier matchup 78-53 over Bennington back on December 13th.
The first quarter started off slow for both teams as each team struggled to knock down shots. Bennington had a slight 6-5 lead after the first quarter.
Ell-Saline got things going in the 2nd quarter as Kas Kramer knocked down 9 in the quarter and Trey Williams added 6 of his own. The Cardinals outscored the Bulldogs 17-3 in the frame and took a 22-9 lead into the break.
The Cardinals came out of the locker room and continued to pile it on, Kramer scored another 9 in the quarter and Reese Krone chipped in 8. Ell-Saline started to pull away as they lead 41-20 going into the final 8 minutes.
Bennington battled in the 4th and outscored the Cardinals 17-16 in the quarter but Ell-Saline coasted to a 20-point to open the tournament.
Ell-Saline was led in scoring on the evening by Kas Kramer who finished the night with a game high 21 points. Reese Krone (19) and Trey Williams (14) also finished in double figures for Ell-Saline.
Isaiah Garrett led Bennington with 14 points in the loss.
Ell-Saline moves to 11-0 on the season and will play round 2 of the Eli J Walter Invitational in Brookville Thursday night as they take on the Solomon Gorillas. Bennington drops to 5-6 on the season and will take on the Republic County Buffaloes in round 2 in Brookville Thursday night.
CITY PLUMBING HEATING AND COOLING PLAYER OF THE GAME: Kas Kramer (21 Points)
BOX SCORE
BENNINGTON (5-6) – 6 – 3 – 11 – 17 / 37
ELL-SALINE (11-0) – 5 – 17 – 19 – 16 / 57
Individual Scoring
Ell-Saline – Kas Kramer 21, Reese Krone 19, Trey Williams 14, Collin Dent 3.
Bennington – Isaiah Garrett 14, Jaxson Kidd 7, Cole Casper/Cade Laws 6, Aiden Levendofsky 4.
GIRLS: REPUBLIC COUNTY 44, ELL-SALINE 12
The Ell-Saline lady Cards came into the tournament the #2 seed in the tournament and drew the #3 seed Republic County lady Buffs in round one. The lady Buffs beat the lady Cards once this season 45-32 back on December 12th.
The lady Cards struggled to knock down shots to start the game Republic County raced out to a 10-1 lead after the first quarter.
Ell-Saline continued to struggle in the 2nd quarter despite getting some good looks. The lady Buffs outscored Ell-Saline 15-1 and Republic County took a 25-2 lead into the locker room.
Despite losing two starters to injuries in the 2nd half the lady Cards continued to battle. The lady Buffs were just too much for Ell-Saline as they outscored the lady Cards 19-10 in the second half as they cruised to a 44-12 opening round win.
Genna Stelter led the way for Ell-Saline as she knocked down 5 points in the loss.
Tallyn Melton and Dakota Peters both finished with a game high 10 points for the lady Buffs.
Ell-Saline drops to 2-9 on the season and will play round 2 of the Eli J Walter Invitational in Brookville Thursday night as they take on the Solomon Lady Gorillas. Republic County moves to 4-8 on the season and will take on the Bennington Lady Bulldogs in round 2 in Brookville Thursday night.
CITY PLUMBING HEATING AND COOLING PLAYER OF THE GAME: Genna Stelter (5 Points)
BOX SCORE
REPUBLIC COUNTY (4-8) – 10 – 15 – 12 – 7 / 44
ELL-SALINE (2-9) – 1 – 1 – 8 – 2 / 12
Individual Scoring
Ell-Saline – Genna Stelter 5, Bret Hecker/Abby Kejr/Levaya Aulner 2, Paisley Jensen 1.
Republic County – Tallyn Melton/Dakota Peters 10, Kylie Stone 8, Giada Smith 6, Mekenzie Banahan 5, Schola Boxa 3, Addie Couture 2.
