“What an absolutely phenomenal week of basketball for our team,” Milford girls’ basketball coach Bryce Roth said.
The Eagles played two top five teams and defeated both, besting Malcolm 66-64 at home Jan. 8 and downing Ogallala 53-36 at the Girls’ Basketball Showcase in Kearney Jan. 10.
The game against Malcolm was neck and neck throughout. Roth said he was a bit disappointed in Milford’s defense and rebounding at times but credited Malcolm for hitting some tough shots.
The Clippers used a hybrid zone to try to limit Milford’s posts and held Shayla Rautenberg and Ashlynn Miller to a combined 22 points.
Enter Abby Crabtree. The sophomore, averaging 6.7 points per game, “was an absolute stud against Malcolm,” Roth said.
She had the biggest game of her career – 32 points (6-13 from three), eight rebounds and four assists.
Milford led by 10 early in the fourth and had chances to pull away, but Malcolm hit a couple threes to cut the lead.
“It was just two really good teams going at it and neither one of us was going to go down without a fight. It was an absolute battle but it was a lot of fun and our girls grew a ton from this game,” Roth said.
In addition to Crabtree’s 32, Rautenberg finished with 14 points and eight boards, and Kylie Jakub scored nine points and dished out five assists.
Roth also praised Jakub for the “enormous charge” she took late in the fourth quarter.
The Eagles brought a big crowd to Kearney for the Showcase, and Roth credited them for making the game against Ogallala a home-game atmosphere.
OHS’s leading scorer averages almost 19 per game, and the MHS defense held her to three, Roth said.
Rautenberg was named the defensive player of the game and had 17 points, 19 rebounds and eight blocks. Miller, named the offensive player of the game, finished with 15 points. Crabtree had 10 points, five boards and five assists.
“She did a terrific job of controlling the tempo of the game and handling their press / pressure,” Roth said.
The Eagles (12-1) were to host Syracuse Jan. 13 and travel to Aurora Thursday, Jan. 15, for a 5 p.m. game.
by Heath Kramer, Seward County Independent
In what was by far its most challenging week of the season, the Malcolm girls were reminded that while they are not invincible, they are very much on track to be in the championship conversation come March.
After the top-ranked Clippers were tripped up at No. 5 Milford, 66-64, in a high-scoring thriller on Jan. 8, Malcolm responded two nights later by handing No. 3 Central City its first loss of the season with a 47-38 win at Kearney’s Nebraska Girls’ Basketball Showcase.
Payton Dolliver set the tone against Central City, scoring 20 points, including seven in the opening quarter to help Malcolm jump out early. The sophomore also earned Defensive Player of the Game honors as she had seven steals and six deflections.
“Payton had a big night covering the backside on lobs inside,” Malcolm head coach Dennis Prichard said. “It’s a standard rotation that we drill, and it’s become second nature for her to be there when that pass comes over the top.”
Halle Dolliver added 16 points and was named Offensive Player of the Game on a milestone night, becoming the program’s all-time leading scorer. The Omaha commit also recorded her eighth double double of the season as she grabbed 18 rebounds.
“Halle’s level of competitiveness is rare,” Prichard said. “She has a unique ability to raise her level of play with the intensity of the moment and the quality of the opponent.”
Those traits were on full display against Milford in what could be considered Class C1’s game of the year to this point. Dolliver finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds as Malcolm traded punches with an Eagles team featuring a talented frontcourt in 6-4 Shayla Rautenberg and 6-1 Ashlynn Miller.
While selling out to limit Milford’s interior game, holding the two post players in check, the Clippers surrendered the perimeter. Sophomore Abby Crabtree made the most of it, knocking down six three-pointers on her way to 32 points.
“That one’s on me,” Prichard said. “Trying to scheme for their posts, I ended up with a poorly designed game plan.”
Trailing by two in the final seconds, Malcolm’s last chance ended when Crabtree deflected an inbounds pass, sealing the loss.
The week opened with a 51-47 home win over Wahoo on Jan. 6, as Malcolm weathered seven three-pointers from the Warriors.
Malcolm (11-1) will host Ralston (0-9) on Thursday, Jan. 15.
