The Ogallala Indians would enter Alliance Friday evening sporting a 12-1 record and sitting fourth in the C-1 state wide power points. The Indians have previously defeated common opponents Bridgeport (77-42) and Gering (73-42). The visitors would find the Bulldogs playing with heart. The first quarter was a defensive struggle with Ogallala up only 12-8 late in the quarter. An offensive rebound on a free throw would lead to a late three pointer as they extended their lead to 15-8 at the quarter mark. The Indians would try to put the game away in the second quarter winning the frame 14-5 to extend their half-time lead to sixteen points. The Bulldogs would not go away as they continued to fight in the second half. In the end, Ogallala would come away with a 58-39 victory to extend their season to a 13-1 record.
The Bulldogs would have several highlights on the night. Payton Weber would again lead the team. She tallied 9 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists to lead or share the lead in all three categories. This was perhaps Payton’s best hustle game of the season. Cameron Tritle was not far behind contributing 9 points and 6 rebounds. The senior recorded one of her best games of the season. Jordan Hopp added 8 points and 4 rebounds to round out the senior class. The Bulldogs would find a new season high with 8 girls scoring above the VPS line. Keeley Mazanec, Haley Weare, Avah Steggall, Shelbee Burke and Kenna Montes would all score highly on the VPS ratings. All the young ladies on the team are starting to contribute to the team with a positive mindset no matter who is currently on the floor. The team would shoot a season high 48.1% from the floor. Unfortunately, the free throw line was not as kind as the Bulldogs only managed 36% on 9 of 25 shooting. The Bulldogs would again be hampered by turnovers committing 34 on the night against the Indian pressure.
The Bulldogs will next be in action Friday at Gering and Saturday at home against North Platte. Gering defeated Alliance at the Conference tournament 77-42 earlier in the year. North Platte will be the final Class A squad on the Alliance schedule for the year. They will bring an outstanding 13-2 record into Alliance.
Alliance (0-15) 08 05 08 18=39
Ogallala (13-1) 15 14 15 14=58