The season opener didn't go the Pioneers' way.
“We have to be better in all phases of the game,” Fort Calhoun girls basketball coach Marty Plum said Friday night after his team's 58-11 loss at Class C2 No. 2 Fremont Bergan. FCHS scored six first-period points and just five after it.
“Give Bergan all of the credit,” Plum added. “They played great and we didn't play as well as we're capable of playing.”
After a 5-0 start by the Knights, junior Bria Bench notched the Pioneers' first points of the season on a 2-point jump shot. Maddy Tinkham knocked down a 3-pointer shortly thereafter to bring the road team within 7-5, but Calhoun made just one more shot from the field for the rest of the game.
Overall, Dala Drowne, Bench and Tinkham tallied three points apiece, while freshman Jovi Greiner added two in Plum's lineup. Greiner was a starter alongside Bench, Tinkham and Kaylee Taylor to open the season.
Syracuse beats FCHS in OT
The Pioneers' 13-point fourth period — which was two more points than Friday's total — forced overtime Saturday, but Syracuse defended its home court with a 36-35 win.
The Rockets recored the game-winning point in the final seconds after Tinkham gave her squad a 35-34 lead with just 27.6 remaining. The guard finished with seven points for the game, while Drowne had eight and Bench tallied a team-high 16.
Syracuse's Kadyn Sisco led all scorers with 22 points. She had seven of the Rockets' eight during the overtime period.
FCHS, meanwhile, next plays tonight at Omaha Concordia. The game tips off at approximately 6 p.m.
