ELLSWORTH GIRLS 67, ELLINWOOD 59 — The Ellsworth girls outscored Ellinwood 13-1 in the final minutes to rally past the previously unbeaten No. 1 ranked 2A Eagles 67-59 Monday at Hoisington.
The back-and-forth battle had the feel of a do-or-die postseason showdown with both teams responding with a mix of offensive and defensive plays.
“Tonight had a true postseason feel," said Ellinwood coach Greg Maxwell. "This was exactly the kind of game we needed. Ellsworth is a really good basketball team. I'm proud of our girls’ fight. At times, we handled the pressure well, and in other moments we learned where we need to be better. It's a great experience that will make us stronger moving forward."
Ellinwood's Mette Maxwell converted a 3-pointer for a 58-54 lead.
Ellsworth's Alexis Moore converted a 3-point play and scored seven points in the fourth quarter. After Josie Kueser scored for a 61-59 Ellsworth lead, the Eagles (12-1) committed three consecutive turnovers. The Bearcats (9-3) converted 12 of 13 free throws in the fourth quarter.
Ellsworth's Lainey Peshcka scored 20 points and hot-shooting Kari Place and Kueser added 19 points apiece.
Ellinwood post player Julia Schlessiger played brilliantly with 25 points and 16 second-chance points. Maxwell converted five 3-pointers for 15 points.
Ellsworth 9 18 20 20 — 67
Ellinwood 10 21 16 12 — 59
ELLSWORTH (9-3)—Kari Place 6-7 (3-3) 4-4 19; Kueser 7-12 (2-3) 3-4 19; Peschka 8-19 (1-4) 3-4 20; Moore 1-11 5-5 7; Lindsley 0-7 (0-2) 0-0 0; Kinly Place 0-3 (0-2) 0-0 0; Haxton 1-7 (0-2) 0-0 2; Hansen 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 23-67 (6-16) 15-17 67
ELLINWOOD (12-1)—Schlessiger 11-17 3-4 25; Maxwell 5-11 (5-8) 0-0 15; Brynn Widener 4-14 (0-3) 3-5 11; Batchman 1-12 (0-2) 0-0 2; Reese Stickney 2-3 1-2 5; Joiner 0-4 0-0 0; Regan Widener 0-3 0-0 0; Ritchie 0-0 1-2 1; Totals 23-61 (5-15) 8-12 59
ELLINWOOD GIRLS 59, MINNEAPOLIS 36 — Ellinwood's Mette Maxwell converted five 3-pointers and scored 18 points to spark the No. 1 ranked 2A Eagles past Minneapolis 59-36 in Friday's Hoisington Winter Jam semifinals.
The championship game was cancelled when Ellsworth declined to travel 36 miles to Hoisington. The Minneapolis girls traveled 86 miles to reach Hoisington. The Hoisington Cardinal girls did not play a single game in their home tournament.
Ellinwood (12-0) placed Brynn Widener (12) and Alyvia Batchman (10) in double figures.
"We passed a big test playing a physical team which has traditionally been successful," said Ellinwood coach Greg Maxwell. "Our defensive pressure continues to be a valuable weapon. It's great to see us shoot well behind the arc today."
Minneapolis 6 10 12 8 — 36
Ellinwood 15 18 13 13 — 59
MINNEAPOLIS (7-6)—Miley McClure 0 2-2 2; Randall-Hurt 4 6-6 14; Worlock 3 0-0 6; Cossaart (1) 0-0 3; Robinson 3 1-1 7; B. Hessan 1 0-0 2; A. Smith 1 0-0 2; Totals 13 (1) 9-9 36
ELLINWOOD (12-0)—Maxwell 6 (5) 1-2 18; Brynn Widener 4 (3) 1-2 12; Batchman 4 (2) 0-0 10; Schlessiger 2 0-0 4; Reese Stickney 2 0-0 4; Addi Stickney 1 0-0 2; Joiner (1) 0-0 3; Regan Widener 1 0-0 2; Panning 1 0-0 2; Ritchie 1 0-0 2; Totals 23 (11) 2-4 59——
PRATT 48, LA CROSSE 34 — Pratt's McAllister (13) and Hope Hughes (12), Myers (10) scored in double figures to help the Greenbacks past La Crosse 48-34 in Friday's consolation game of the Hoisington Winter Jam.
La Crosse's Madison Morgan scored 23 points.
La Crosse 8 6 7 10 — 34
Pratt 10 10 19 9 — 49
LA CROSSE (6-6)—Madison Morgan 3 (2) 15-17 23; Showalter (2) 0-0 6; Shull 0 0-4 0; Thielenhaus 1 0-2 2; McGaughey 0 1-2 1; Marvin 1 0-0 2; Totals 7 (4) 16-25 34
PRATT (5-10)—McAllister 5 (3) 0-0 13; Hughes 4 (1) 3-4 12; Myers 3 (2) 2-2 10; Winklepleck 2 1-2 5; Addison Sowers 2 0-2 4; Forssberg 2 0-0 4; Totals 18 (6) 6-10 48
ELLINWOOD GIRLS 54, PRATT 33 — Ellinwood's Julia Schlessiger dominated inside with 21 points and Brynn Widener added 11 points in Monday's Hoisington Winter Jam.
Pratt 3 14 6 11 — 33
Ellinwood 13 15 9 17 — 54
PRATT (3-10)—Hughes 5 (3) 2-2 15; Myers 3 (2) 0-0 8; Winklepleck 1 2-4 4; Hildebrand 2 0-0 4; Sowers 1 0-0 2; Totals 12 (5) 4-6 33
ELLINWOOD (11-0)—Schlessiger 7 3-3 21; Brynn Widener 3 (1) 4-6 11; Reese Stickney 2 4-4 8; Batchman 2 1-2 5; Maxwell 2 1-2 5; Wirtz 2 0-0 4; Addi Stickney 0 2-2 2; Jacobs 0 2-2 2; Totals 18 (1) 17-21 54
ELLSWORTH 49, LA CROSSE 32 — Ellsworth's Lainey Peschka and Alexis Moore each scored 12 points as the Bearcats pulled away for a hard-fought 49-32 victory over La Crosse in the Hoisington Winter Jam.
La Crosse's Madison Morgan scored 18 points in a brilliant effort.
La Crosse 4 11 9 8 — 32
Ellsworth 11 4 16 18 — 49
LA CROSSE (6-5)—Morgan 5 (3) 5-8 18; McGaughey 2 2-2 6; Marvin 3 0-0 6; Thielenhaus 1 0-0 2; Totals 11 (3) 7-10 32
ELLSWORTH (8-3)—Lainey Peschka 5 (1) 2-4 13; Alexis Moore 6 1-2 13; Kinley Place 2 2-4 6; Kari Place 3 0-0 6; Lindsley 0 1-2 1; Rodriguez 2 0-0 4; Hansen 1 2-2 4; Kueser 0 2-2 2; Totals 19 (1) 10-16 49
MINNEAPOLIS 57, VICTORIA 30 — Minneapolis Lion Miley McGuire scored 14 points and the Lions converted seven 3-pointers to roll past Victoria 57-30 in Monday's Hoisington Winter Jam.
Victoria's Kaylee Kuhn scored 13 points with a 3-pointer.
Victoria 4 7 13 6 — 30
Minneapolis 16 12 18 11 — 57
VICTORIA (3-8)—Kuhn 6 (1) 0-0 13; Cidnee Werth 3 2-2 8; Schmidtberger 2 0-0 4; Dinkel 1 1-1 3; Grace Younger 1 0-0 2; Totals 13 (1) 3-3 30
MINNEAPOLIS (7-4)—Miley McClure 5 (3) 1-1 14; Randall-Hurt 4 1-2 9; Worlock 3 (2) 1-1 9; Cossart 3 (1) 0-0 7; Abell 3 0-0 6; Robinson 1 3-6 5; Doering (1) 0-0 3; Nichols 1 0-0 2; Parks 1 0-0 2; Totals 22 (7) 6-10 57
PRATT GIRLS 64, VICTORIA 38 — Pratt's Hope Hughes scored 29 points in a 64-38 consolation victory over Victoria.
Pratt 16 19 15 14 — 64
Victoria 8 16 10 4 — 38
VICTORIA (3-9)—Kaylee Kuhn 5 2-6 12; Dinkel 2 0-4 4; Cidnee Werth 1 3-4 5; Schmidtberger 4 (2) 0-0 10; Rachel Kuhn (1) 0-0 3; Orr 0 0-2 0; Lichter 2 0-0 4; Totals 15 (3) 5-16 38
PRATT (4-10)—Hughes 8 (5) 8-8 29; McAllister 3 (1) 2-3 9; Myers 3 (1) 1-2 9; Winklepleck 2 0-0 4; Addison Sowers 2 1-1 5; Forssberg 2 4-4 6; Totals 20 (8) 14-16 64
HOISINGTON GIRLS WINTER JAM
1-26—EXTRA GAME—Ellsworth 67, Ellinwood 59
1ST—Ellinwood vs. Hoisington/Ellsworth winner, cancelled; 3RD—Minneapolis vs. Hoisington/Ellsworth loser, cancelled
SEMIFINALS—Ellinwood 59, Minneapolis 36; Hoisington vs. Ellsworth, cancelled
FIRST ROUND—Ellinwood 54, Pratt 33; Minneapolis 57, Victoria 30; Ellsworth 49, La Crosse 32
CONSOLATION—Pratt 64, Victoria 38; Pratt 48, La Crosse 34; Victoria vs. La Crosse, cancelled
HOISINGTON 56, VICTORIA 41 —With weather throwing monkey wrench into the 2026 Hoisington Winter Jam, the Hoisington Cardinals celebrated a 56-41 victory over Victoria to finish with a 2-1 record. The game was played when Ellsworth bypassed travel to Hoisington.
Hoisington's Mason Martin backed up a 33-point game with a 27-point outing. Brody Pfannenstiel scored eight points.
Victoria's Nick Sander scored 12 points.
Victoria 7 13 12 9 — 41
Hoisington 9 20 15 12 — 56
VICTORIA (8-4)—Nick Sander 5 (2) 0-0 12; Huser 4 2-7 10; Scherrer (3) 1-2 10; Wesley Sander 1 0-0 2; Schumacher (1) 0-0 3; Schmidtberger (1) 1-2 4; Totals 15 (7) 4-11 41
HOISINGTON (7-6)—Mason Martin 11 (3) 2-2 27; Pfannenstiel 3 2-2 8; Carson Mason 2 (1) 0-0 5; Hekele 2 0-0 4; Ingram 1 3-4 5; Crawford 2 (1) 0-0 5; Gruis 1 0-0 2; Totals 19 (2) 7-8 56
HOISINGTON 62, MINNEAPOLIS 50 — Hoisington's Mason Martin was on fire with a career high 33 points off six 3-pointers to spark a 62-50 consolation victory over Minneapolis in the Hoisington Winter Jam.
Carson Mason added nine points. The Cardinals outscored the Lions 23-10 in the second quarter. Owen Just led the Lions with 24 points.
Minneapolis 16 10 12 12 — 50
Hoisington 12 23 13 14 — 62
MINNEAPOLIS (2-10)—Owen Just 9 (3) 3-5 24; Rice (3) 0-0 9; Norris 3 3-5 9; Helget (2) 0-0 6; Kingston Deronnet 1 0-0 2; Totals 18 (8) 6-12 50
HOISINGTON (6-6)—Mason Martin 12 (6) 3-3 33; Carson Mason 4 (1) 0-0 9; Hekele 0 4-6 4; Ingram 1 2-3 4; Crawford 1 4-8 6; Pfannenstiel 3 0-0 6; Totals 21 (7) 13-20 62
LA CROSSE 55, ELLINWOOD 37 — La Crosse converted 10 3-pointers to down Ellinwood 55-37 in Thursday's consolation bracket of the Hoisington Winter Jam.
La Crosse's Christian Rush scored 22 points and Lee Holopirek added 12 points.
Ellinwood's Drake Hosman and Austin Brack each scored nine points.
Ellinwood 12 2 9 14 — 37
La Crosse 20 13 15 7 — 55
ELLINWOOD (3-9)—Hosman 4 (1) 0-0 9; Austin Brack 2 (1) 4-4 9; Coleman (2) 0-0 6; Wirtz 1 0-0 2; Heinz 3 (1) 0-0 7; Gosser 1 0-0 2; Hammeke 1 0-0 2; Totals 14 (5) 4-4 37
LA CROSSE (9-3)—Rush 8 (4) 2-4 22; Holopirek (4) 0-0 12; Doornbos 1 0-0 2; Spreier (1) 0-0 3; Skillett 3 2-6 8; Castaneda 2 0-0 4; Morgan (1) 0-0 3; Thielenhaus 0 1-2 1; Totals 20 (10) 5-12 55
PRATT 78, RENO COUNTY 45 — Pratt's Arley Morrell muscled for 27 points inside and Hudson Titus handled the outside game with 25 points and four 3-pointers for a 78-45 semifinal victory over Reno County.
Reno County's Colt Smith scored 13 points and Jett Smith added 12 points.
Reno County 10 16 12 7 — 45
Pratt 22 18 20 18 — 78
PRATT (13-1)—Morrell 12 3-5 27; Titus 9 (4) 3-5 25; Strong 5 (2) 3-4 15; Liggett 2 2-2 6; Barker 0 3-4 3; Lara 1 0-0 2; Totals 29 (6) 14-20 78
RENO COUNTY (9-4)—Colt Smith 5 (2) 2-2 14; Jett Smith 5 (1) 1-1 12; Washington 2 1-1 5; Cass 1 0-0 2; Asberry 3 0-0 6; Loewen 1 2-4 4; Rock Smith 1 0-0 2; Totals 18 (3) 6-8 45
HOISINGTON BOYS WINTER JAM
1-26—EXTRA GAMES—Minneapolis vs. Reno County, 2; Ellsworth vs. Victoria, 3:30
1ST—Pratt 13-1 vs. Victoria/Ellsworth winner, cancelled; 3RD—Reno County vs. Victoria/Ellsworth loser, cancelled; 5TH—Hoisington vs. La Crosse, cancelled; 7TH—Ellinwood vs. Minneapolis, cancelled
SEMIFINAL—Pratt 78, Reno County 45; Victoria vs. Ellsworth, cancelled; CONSOLATION—Hoisington 62, Minneapolis 50; La Crosse 55, Ellinwood 37
FIRST ROUND—Pratt 71, Minneapolis 25; Victoria 60, Ellinwood 52; Ellsworth 42, La Crosse 21; Reno County 60, Hoisington 57
RENO COUNTY 60, HOISINGTON 57 — Reno County Homeschool raced to an 18-8 lead and held off Hoisington's rally 60-57 to drop the Cardinals to the losers bracket of the Hoisington Winter Jam.
Hoisington's Mason Martin was on fire with 27 points and five 3-pointers. Kobe Crawford scored a season best 16 points. The Cardinals misfired from the free throw line with 12 of 25 shooting.
The Cardinals had no defensive answers for the balanced Sabres. Reno County's Lucas Asberry (17), Colt Smith 15), Jett Smith (10) and Samuel Loewen (10) scored in double figures.
Reno County 18 11 18 13 — 60
Hoisington 8 18 14 17 — 57
RENO COUNTY (9-3)—Asberry 8 1-6 17; Colt Smith 6 (3) 0-2 15; Jett Smith 4 2-2 10; Loewen 4 2-2 10; Schmidt (1) 3-4 6; Bo Smith 1 0-0 2; Totals 24 (4) 8-19 60
HOISINGTON (5-6)—Mason Martin 8 (5) 6-9 27; Crawford 5 (3) 3-4 16; Ingram 3 2-6 8; Carson Mason (1) 1-2 4; Pfannenstiel 1 0-4 2; Totals 18 (9) 12-25 57
PRATT 71, MINNEAPOLIS 25 — No. 1 seed Pratt rolled past Minneapolis 71-25 in the Hoisington Winter Jam. Pratt's Arley Morrell dominated inside with 27 points and Caleb Strong kicked in 17 points.
Minneapolis 9 8 8 0 — 25
Pratt 22 22 20 7 — 71
MINNEAPOLIS (2-10)—Norris 3 2-4 8; Just 1 6-6 8; 32 Denonnet 2 0-0 4; 35 Deronnet 1 0-0 2; Rice 1 1-2 3; Totals 8 9-12 25
PRATT (12-1)—Morrell 13 1-2 27; Strong 7 (1) 2-2 17; Liggett 5 1-1 11; Titus 3 1-1 7; Barker 3 0-0 6; DeMuth 1 1-2 3; Totals 32 (1) 6-8 71
ELLSWORTH 42, LA CROSSE 21 — Ellsworth's Tucker Goss scored 15 points and the Bearcats defense locked down La Crosse for a 42-21 victory in the Hoisington Winter Jam.
Christian Rush led La Crosse with seven points.
La Crosse 3 6 4 8 — 21
Ellsoworth 14 11 10 7— 42
LA CROSSE (7-3)—Rush 3 1-2 7; Holopirek (1) 3-3 6; Doornbos 2 0-0 4; Skillet 1 0-0 2, Castaneda 0 2-4 2; Totals 7 (1) 6-9 21
ELLSWORTH (5-5)—Tucker Goss 6 (1) 2-3 15; Thomasson 1 0-0 2; Jacobs 1 0-0 2; Tully 1 1-3 3; Taylor 0 1-2 1; Barta 2 (1) 2-2 7; McGowan 5 0-0 10; Gardner 1 0-0 2; Totals 17 (2) 6-10 42
VICTORIA 60, ELLINWOOD 52 — Ellinwood's boys sliced a 15-point deficit to four points before Victoria escaped with a hard-fought 60-52 victory in the Hoisington Winter Jam.
Ellinwood's Drake Hosman scored 18 points and Drew Heinz and Austin Brack scored nine apiece. The Eagles rallied behind fullcourt pressure defense that rattled the Knights.
"Victoria's zone made things difficult," said Ellinwood coach Jaron Lane. "We got good looks. We needed to knock down a couple more shots."
Nick Sander (18), Kyle Huser (14) and Weston Scherrer (13) paced Victoria.
Ellinwood 11 13 13 15 — 52
Victoria 13 10 26 11 — 60
ELLINWOOD (3-8)—Hosman 7 (2) 2-2 18; Austin Brack 4 (1) 0-0 9; Heinz 2 (1) 4-5 9; Wirtz 2 (1) 0-0 5; Coleman 2 (1) 0-0 5; Behnke 1 1-2 3; Hammeke 1 0-2 2; Brody Brack 0 1-4 1; Totals 19 (6) 8-15 52
VICTORIA (8-3)—Nick Sander 6 6-6 18; Huser 6 2-4 14; Scherrer 5 3-4 13; Wesley Sander 4 (1) 0-0 9; Schmidtberger 2 (1) 1-3 6; Totals 23 (2) 12-17 60
