Panthers Sweep 3rd Straight Opponent
For the third straight night, the Concordia Boys and Girls Basketball teams swept their opposition in The Jungle. It's also the first time this season that Concordia has swept a series against a North Central Kansas League opponent. On Tuesday, February 3rd, Concordia welcomed NCKL foe, Marysville, where Concordia earned two victories. In the varsity girls contest, Concordia has now won 3 games in a row with the 59-46 victory, and in the varsity boys contest, Concordia has now won 4 in a row, defeating the Bulldogs 67-51.
In the varsity girls contest, for the 3rd game in a row, the Lady Panthers got off to a great start. Concordia jumped out to an early 9-0 lead over the first four minutes, thanks to aggressive play from Senior Charlize Cash on the defensive end. Cash was named the H&R Block of the Game after finishing with 9 points, a game high 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and a block. Head Coach Trey Kuhlman joined KNCK Radio in the Panther Postgame Show and shared about the defense.
Concordia led 19-6 after the first quarter, and the game looked like it might turn into a rout. The Lady Panthers would cool off, however, in the 2nd. Concordia only managed to score 4 points for the first 7 and a half minutes of the 2nd frame. Senior Rylie Jessup then knocked down a big 3 with 35 seconds left to give Concordia a 26-20 lead at halftime. Jessup was named the Cloud County Cooperator of the Game, finishing with 9 points, going 3-4 from behind the arc, 3 assists, and, for standing 5'4, she grabbed 5 rebounds.
To start the second half, both teams exploded offensively. Concordia outscored Marysville in the 3rd quarter 23-19 as both teams just traded buckets back and forth. The Lady Panthers were led by an incredible performance from Sophomore Marlee VanMeter. VanMeter was named the Swenson Jeardoe Family Farms Player of the Game, finishing with a game-high 26 points, going 9-12 from the floor and 4-5 from 3. She also grabbed 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Kuhlman shared about how special his Sophomore guards performance was.
Concordia led 49-39 after the third quarter and held a good cushion on their way to their third win in a row, 59-46. The Lady Panthers improve to 9-6 overall and now 5-2 in NCKL play. Concordia will be back in action on Friday, February 6th, as they travel to Wamego to take on the #4 team in 4A and NCKL leading Red Raiders. Kuhlman shared his postgame message to the team for the upcoming challenge.
The #6-ranked Concordia Panther boys found out that there are no easy games in the NCKL, as the Panthers handled Marysville with relative ease back in December. This time, however, the Bulldogs put up a great fight and made a fun game. At the end of the first quarter, after several ties and lead changes, Concordia led 16-14. Sophomore Brandon Vignery joined KNCK Radio in the Panther Postgame Show to share about the challenges of facing a league opponent for the second time.
Vignery was named the Cloud County Cooperator of the Game, finishing with two points, 2 assists, and a rebound. Head Coach Shane Traughber shared why guys like Brandon Vignery make a team like this special.
Concordia led 38-31 in a high-scoring first half as the Bulldogs continued to knock down shots. Marysville hit the most three's they've hit this season, knocking down 11 from the outside and shooting above 50%. Isaias Irigoyen was named the H&R Block of the Game after he caught on to the Bulldogs game and blocked a Marysville 3. The Junior also finished with 9 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals. Junior Ian Loudermilk, who finished with 8 points and 3 rebounds, shared about how his team battled through Marysville consistently knocking down shots.
Concordia built the lead by getting stops and getting the ball to Chane Parker in the paint in the 3rd quarter. Parker was named the Swenson Jeardoe Family Farms Player of the Game with a game-high 21 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 steals, and an assist. Traughber shared about the strong performance from his Senior.
Concordia built its largest lead of the night, 58-42, after the 3rd quarter and held on to win 67-51. This is Concordia's 4th win in a row and improves the Panthers overall record to 12-3 and now 6-1 in NCKL play. Concordia's only losses are to #1 Rock Creek, #2 Hesston, and #6 Hays. The Panthers look to carry the momentum on Friday, February 6th, on the road to take on Wamego.