Her team ahead by 51 points, Fort Calhoun High School senior basketball player Maddy Tinkham had just a few more seconds left to put up a 3-point attempt Thursday night.
The Pioneer's teammates cheered for it, but the veteran guard instead turned to the bench and smiled with the ball in hand, letting the Mead Raiders off of the hook. Tinkham's team won 70-19 at home without the long-range attempt, improving to 11-4 overall, while the Raiders dropped to 0-for-13.
“It just felt nice to play the sport that I've grown up loving,” the 12th-grader said.
Tinkham and her fellow substitutes claimed steady playing time Thursday after coach Marty Plum's squad jumped out to a 30-3 lead through one period. Fort Calhoun led 22-0 before Mead even scored its first points with 2:24 left during the opening quarter.
The Pioneers added 40 more points across the next 24 minutes of game time, producing their second-straight 70-point game after besting Omaha Concordia 77-49 on Jan. 16.
“I think that we're really getting good rebounds, and then we're really meaning to push the ball down the floor to get easy layups,” leading scorer Ansley Elofson said.
The 5-foot-10 freshman tallied a game-high 21 points against the Raiders, which is the new high of her first high school season. She had 17 points before the end of the first half alone.
FCHS freshman guard Raeann Massey added 18 points, too, while Bria Bench had seven and Jovi Grenier scored six.
Tinkham scored one 2-point bucket from close range during the fourth quarter, too. She said she enjoyed her time on the court with her fellow Pioneers on Thursday night.
“We all just enjoy playing with each other,” the senior noted.
Calhoun was set to host Douglas County West on Monday during the first round of the Nebraska Capitol Conference Tournament. The Pioneers will next play again 6 p.m. Thursday, but the location and opponent were to-be-determined as of press time.
FCHS GIRLS HOOPS LINE SCORE
Thursday
Fort Calhoun 70, Mead 19
MHS (0-13) 3 4 5 7 — 19
FCHS (11-4) 30 19 14 7 — 70
Scoring: FCHS — Ansley Elofson 21, Raeann Massey 18, Bria Bench 7, Jovi Grenier 6, Izzy Greenough 5, Maelie Nelson 4, Anna Taylor 3, Sophie Weeks 2, Maddy Tinkham 2, Ella Bouwman 2.
MHS — Eva Georgoulopoulos 4, Taylar Shull 4, Brenna Schulz 4, Leigha Divoll 3, Addison O'Brien 2, Beth Brennan 2.
