The Fort Calhoun girls basketball team lost its first game of the Dec. 29-30 Blizzard Blowout tournament, but they responded with a 44-26 win against Sandy Creek in the second.
Bria Bench scored 16 points in the Pioneers' victory, while Dala Drowne had 10. Freshman Maelie Nelson added nine points during just her second game of the season, too.
“She's just a great athlete,” coach Marty Plum said of the previously injured ninth-grader. “She's got a good basketball IQ.”
He noted that both Nelson and Ella Bouwman have been “thrown into the fire” as freshman with limited practice time due to preseason ailments.
“So, we're trying to do a lot of the teaching during the games,” Plum added. “That's the hand we were dealt and we've got to figure it out.”
Bouwman has logged consistent playing time during FCHS' first 10 games, while the coach expects Nelson to continue to get more and more involved.
“In about three weeks, she's going to be just fine,” Plum said.
Maddy Tinkham scored five points in the Pioneers' win against Sandy Creek, too, while Ari Nelson and Jovi Greiner had two apiece.
In the first-round game, a 57-24 loss to Centura, however, Bench scored eight. Greiner and Drowne had four, too.
The Centurions led 15-4 after one quarter and never looked back. They led 37-12 at halftime and 49-18 after three periods as Sydney Davis scored a game-high 25 points for the winning team.
FCHS was scheduled to play its first game of 2023 on Tuesday, but it was postponed to Jan. 16 by winter weather conditions.
FCHS BASKETBALL LINE SCORES
Dec. 30
Fort Calhoun 44, Sandy Creek 26
SC (2-8) 8 9 8 1 — 26
FCHS (4-6) 3 18 14 9 — 44
Scoring: FCHS — Bria Bench 16, Dala Drowne 10, Maelie Nelson 9, Maddy Tinkham 5, Ari Nelson 2, Jovi Greiner 2.
SC — Ryleigh Skalka 13, Emma Fisher 5, Mckenzie Bohlen 4, Sophie Dane 2, Karys Lipovsky 1, Lexi Shuck 1.
Dec. 29
Centura 57, Fort Calhoun 24
CENT (9-0) 15 22 12 8 — 57
FCHS (3-6) 4 8 6 6 — 24
Scoring: FCHS — Bench 8, Greiner 4, Drowne 4, A.Nelson 2, Ella Bouwman 2, Simone Bonacci 2, Tinkham 2.
CENT — Sydney Davis 25, Taya Christensen 8, Kyra Wooden 6, Katie Hadenfeldt 6, Kailey Coghlan 5, Hope McDonald 2, Brianna Rasmussen 2, Paige Crawford 2, Ella Rasmussen 1.
