Class C1 No. 1 Lincoln Christian lived up to the hype Thursday at Fort Calhoun High School.
The unbeaten Crusaders routed coach Eric Jones' girls basketball team, 69-26. They improved to 19-0 with the win, while the Pioneers dropped to 13-7 with their fourth-straight loss.
Lincoln Christian started strong and didn't slow down, building a 25-10 lead through 8 minutes. It scored 20 more points during the second period for a 45-16 lead and, ultimately, won the game by 43.
Mattea Kassebaum, Maci Pittenger and Kena Ailes led the Crusaders with 20, 18 and 17 points, respectively, while Maelie Nelson led FCHS with eight. Ari Nelson, Raeann Massey and Isabel Wray scored four points apiece for the home team, too.
The Pioneers have lost four games in a row after a 13-3 start to the season. All four losses, however, have been to teams with 16-4 season records or better.
Calhoun next plays 6 p.m. today at Class B Nebraska City, which was 9-10 as of Friday.
FCHS BASKETBALL LINE SCORE
Thursday
No. 1 Lincoln Christian 69, Fort Calhoun 26
LC (19-0) 25 20 14 10 — 69
FCHS (13-7) 10 6 5 5 — 26
Scoring: FCHS — Maelie Nelson 8, Ari Nelson 4, Raeann Massey 4, Isabel Wray 4, Ella Bouwman 2, Kamie Nelson 2, Ansley Elofson 1, Anna McMahon 1.
LC — Mattea Kassebaum 20, Maci Pittenger 18, Kena Ailes 17, Jessa Hueser 7, Lexi Pittenger 3, Livia Drevo 2, Claire Ballard 2.
