Three straight days of basketball is a lot. Just ask the Milford basketball teams.
The girls’ team went 2-1 over the three days, beating Superior 42-37, losing to Cross County 45-39 and defeating Cozad 51-26 for third place in the holiday tournament.
Originally, the game against Superior was scheduled for Dec. 22, but it was moved because of weather.
“It was a battle. We didn’t shoot well, but we made enough plays to finish with the win,” Coach Bryce Roth said.
The Wildcats bring good offensive weapons to the court, Roth said.
“We did a really good job defending,” he said. “We shut down what they do well.”
MHS led 25-19 at halftime but could not put the game out of reach, Roth said. Superior made seven three-point shots, and that kept them in the game.
Kaitlin Kontor scored a season-high 20 points against the Wildcats.
“We needed her to score, and she did,” Roth said.
Taylor Roth came up big on defense, he said, and finished with seven rebounds.
The next day, Milford played at Cross County and couldn’t get past the Cougars, despite 18 points from Ayla Roth and 13 from Tanya Miller.
“We didn’t defend as well,” Coach Roth said. “They outplayed us.”
CCHS made five three-pointers in the first half and played with confidence.
“We weren’t quite as sharp or focused, especially on the defensive end,” Coach Roth said.
At one point in the fourth quarter, Milford trailed by 14 but cut the lead to four.
“We haven’t had to play from behind,” the coach said.
Izzy Yeackley finished with eight rebounds.
In the third-place game, Milford held a 15-2 lead after the first quarter and extended it until the end.
“They had their edge back,” Coach Roth said. “They had better focus and played lock-down defense.”
Cozad threw every defense it could think of at the Eagles, and MHS responded each time. Eight Eagles scored in the game, led by 13 points from Ayla Roth and 10 from Miller. Roth finished a double double with 10 rebounds.
Taylor Roth had a solid game, as well, with eight points and nine rebounds, and Kontor scored nine.
“I was concerned with how much juice we’d have,” Coach Roth said.”It was a good bounce back, a great way to end 2022.”
The Eagles were at Auburn to play Falls City Jan. 2 and beat the Tigers 31-28. Stats were not available at press time.
MHS (9-2) is to play at Malcolm (9-1) Thursday, Jan. 5, at 6 p.m. Coach Roth said the team is looking forward to playing a top-tier opponent. On Saturday, Jan. 7, the Eagles will play Pender (11-1) at the Kearney Basketball Showcase.
“It’s a very cool experience,” Coach Roth said, adding that Pender is one of the top teams in Class C2.
