The Arlington girls basketball team split of pair of holiday tournament games Dec. 29-30 at Lincoln Lutheran.
The Eagles beat Holdrege 53-44 first before dropping the 47-32 title game to their Warrior hosts.
Britt Nielsen said AHS' first practice back from the holiday break was rough, but that her team responded during the tourney opener against the Dusters.
“Coming into that Holdrege game, it felt really good to play,” she said. “I was happy to be back. It felt good to be back.”
As a result, Nielsen scored 20 points during the nine-point win. Her freshman teammate, Emme Timm, scored a team-high 21, too, while Taylor Arp had nine points and Macy Wolf scored three.
A day later against Lincoln Lutheran, the Eagles were quiet offensively early, falling behind 10-0. Coach Luke Brenn's team found its shot, though, battling back to a 13-13 tie in the second period. Nielsen knocked down AHS' first 3-pointer before Macy Wolf hit the next two.
The Warriors shook off the Eagles, however, with a 12-0 run. They led 25-13 before Nielsen's bucket ended the run.
“Sometimes we like to force up some shots,” Nielsen said. “And, I think, working the ball around really helped when we did get those open shots.”
The game was no longer ever in doubt, though. The home team led by double digits the rest of the way as Arlington struggled to make up ground offensively in what was its third loss of the season.
The Eagles were scheduled to play Tuesday, too, but the game was postponed by winter weather conditions.
AHS BASKETBALL LINE SCORES
Dec. 30
Lincoln Lutheran 47, Arlington 32
AHS (4-3) 11 4 9 8 — 32
LL (4-5) 13 16 9 9 — 47
Scoring: AHS — Macy Wolf 9, Britt Nielsen 8, Emme Timm 7, Libby Hegemann 4, Taylor Arp 4.
LL — Erika Young 13, Jami Wahl 9, Jenna Luebbe 8, Ava Stroud 6, Sophie Wohlgemuth 4, Jordan Ernstmeyer 4, Elsa Meyer 3.
Dec. 29
Arlington 53, Holdrege 44
AHS (4-2) 12 8 15 18 — 53
HHS (2-6) 9 10 10 15 — 44
Scoring: AHS — Timm 21, Nielsen 20, Arp 9, Wolf 3.
HHS — Kenna Fulmer 17, Emily Stutzman 13, Keeley Vaughn 10, Bradie Medina 3, Gabby Rooks 1.
