The Ell-Saline Lady Cardinals dropped a close game in a non-conference match-up with the Ellinwood Lady Eagles 56-50 Thursday night at Brookville.

Ellinwood jumped out to an 11-2 lead in the early going of quarter number one before Coach Bill Geis called a time out to re-group his Lady Cardinals.  After the time out Ell-Saline stepped up the defensive pressure and went on their own 11-4 run to end the first quarter down by two 15-13.

In the second quarter it was another game of runs that saw the Lady Cardinals gain their first lead of the night at 18-17, but would soon lose that lead on another run by the Lady Eagles that gave them a 26-24 advantage at intermission.  Ell-Saline hit some big shots throughout the night connecting on 4 three pointers and had another great night at the free throw line hitting 18-25 for 72%.

The second half was again a game of runs, but it was the Lady Eagles sophomore Brittany Simpson that would light things from the field to help push Ellinwood to a 40-35 lead after three.  Ell-Saline would gain the lead one more time in the 4th at 43-42, but more big shots with 3 three pointers in the fourth quarter and some big free throws down the stretch by the two top scorers, Simpson and senior Mya Maxwell pushed the Lady Eagles to the 56-50 win.

It was junior Raleigh Kramer leading the scoring attack for Ell-Saline with 14 points and 8 rebounds, senior Reece Ditto and junior Sadie Bradley ended the night with 8 points each and sophomore Balyleigh Schneider chipped in 7.  Leading all scorers on the night was Ellinwood sophomore Brittany Simpson with 22, senior Mya Maxwell added 10 with sophomore Bella Baker chipping in 8.

The Lady Eagles advance their record to 10-6, while the Lady Cardinals drop to 6-11 overall.  Both teams are back in action Friday night, with Ellinwood traveling to Otis-Bison and Ell-Saline entertaining Sterling, with a 5:45 pre-game show and 6:00 tip-off 104.9 FM.

The #6 Ellinwood Eagles dominated the undersized and outmatched Ell-Saline Cardinals on Thursday night 53-16 at Brookville.

With only one senior on their roster, Ellinwood displayed some excellent young talent with 4 sophomores starting and 2 of the four providing the bulk of the scoring for the Eagles.  In the first quarter it was Ellinwood jumping out to a 17-3 lead after one, sophomore Brit Dutton and sophomore Tyler Stuhlsatz connected for 13 of the 17 points.

The second quarter saw Dutton leading the charge with 15 of his 20 points coming in the first half.  Ell-Saline received scoring from sophomore Kade Wilson, senior Carter Underwood and freshman Marshall Johnson, but the Cardinals found themselves down 28-9 after the first 16 minutes of play.

It was more balanced scoring in the third quarter for Ellinwood as they would outscore the Cardinals 14 to 6 to gain a 27 point advantage at 42-15 after three.  In the fourth quarter, Ellinwood would empty their bench and give the starters and top reserves some rest to limit Ell-Saline to one point in the final stanza and gain their 14th win on the season at 53-16.

Leading the scoring attack for the Eagles was sophomore Brit Dutton with 22, sophomore Tyler Stuhlsatz and sophomore Parker Scheck added 9 each.  For the Cardinal boys, sophomore Kade Wilson led the scoring with 8 points and 5 rebounds.

Ellinwood at #6 in 2A moves to 14-3 overall and travels to Otis-Bison on Friday night, while Ell-Saline falls to 0-18 on the season and will host Sterling tomorrow night, be sure to catch all the action immediately following the girls game on 104.9 FM.