The Fort Calhoun girls basketball team picked up a pair of victories Thursday and Saturday, pushing its season record to 8-4 overall.
After besting Logan View/Scribner-Snyder at home, the Pioneers topped Wisner-Pilger on the road, 52-38. Coach Marty Plum's team faced a deficit early, but battled back with a 35-14 second half.
Bria Bench scored a team-best 15 points for FCHS, while Raeann Massey scored 11 and Ansley Elofson had 10. Ella Bouwman scored nine points, too, earning them all from the foul line during the fourth period.
The Pioneers, however, attacked Logan View/ from the start of Thursday's 45-26 home win. Coach Plum's team applied pressure defensively and forced turnover after turnover, keeping the Raiders' point total low and adding to its own.
Fort Calhoun led 29-14 at halftime and only added to their lead from there. Elofson, a freshman, led all scorers, finishing with 13 points. She a pair of baseline-to-baseline buckets during the first half alone as the Pioneers hit the gas.
“That's how our game goes,” Elofson said. “We just have to go, go, go.”
She noted how FCHS' ball-hawking, full-court pressure defense is successful through practice and, ultimately, trust in each other.
“If one of us jumps for the ball, we all know we have each other's backs,” the ninth-grader said. “There's always a next row of our defense.”
After recent struggles holding leads late, the Pioneers pushed their advantage to as many as 23 points during the fourth quarter. Massey added 12 points for the home team, while Maelie Nelson and Bench each tallied nine. Jovi Grenier had a first-half bucket as well.
“We just knew we had to go all four quarters,” Elofson said.
FCHS GIRLS HOOPS LINE SCORES
Saturday
Fort Calhoun 52, Wisner-Pilger 38
FCHS (8-4) 7 10 14 21 — 52
W-P (5-6) 13 11 7 7 — 38
Scoring: FCHS — Bria Bench 15, Raeann Massey 11, Ansley Elofson 10, Ella Bouwman 9, Maelie Nelson 5.
W-P — Emerson Bellar 16, Haley Kneifl 6, Hannah Parker 6, Nevaeh Brown 6, Ramsey Arduser 4.
Thursday
Fort Calhoun 45, Logan View/Scribner-Snyder 26
LVSS (2-9) 10 4 6 6 — 26
FCHS (7-4) 14 15 7 9 — 45
Scoring: FCHS — Elofson 13, Massey 12, Nelson 9, Bench 9, Jovi Grenier 2.
LVSS — Haley Isaac 8, Elli Christianson 7, Keegan Francis 5, Kacee Booth 2, Ava Schafersman 2, Callie Stockamp 2.
