Hoisington girls came out playing a solid first half to lead 13-7 after one and 22-18 at the half over the sluggish Vikings. But Smoky Valley came out with great energy to start the third quarter and it became an 18-4 Viking run to lead by 10, 36-26, after three quarters. Despite going around three minutes with no points to start the final period, the 10-point lead still held up until a Cardinal three cut the lead to 40-33 at the 4:06 mark. SV was able to add nine more points the rest of the way and held Hoisington to four the remaining three minutes for the 49-37 Viking win. Leading the Cardinals was Macy Hanzlick with 16 points while Suzanna Schneider had 9. For Smoky Valley, McKinley Johnson fired in 12 points, Adrian Hazelwood had 10, and Breanna Priddy tallied nine. The win makes SV 11-7 on the season.
The Viking boys battled to stay within seven of the No. 7 ranked (3A) Cardinals by the half but had trouble getting points in the paint. It was a 28-21 Hoisington halftime lead. A 5-2 quick start to the third quarter by the Cardinals led to a 19-12 third quarter scoring advantage to push their lead to 14 heading into the fourth. The hot-shooting Cards continued on the gas pedal in the fourth and won 71-50. The loss makes the Vikes 6-10 on the season and Hoisington 14-3. HHS was led by 6-7 senior Drew Nicholson with 32 points (12 in the third quarter and 13 in the fourth) while Mason Haxton had 10. For Smoky Valley, Lukas Apel came off the bench to score 14 points. Ryan Heline had 11 and Haven Lysell 10.
