BY RAY STRUNK
Special to the Tribune

HOSINGTON — The Hoisington girls’ defense led them to victory in a rematch against Ellinwood Thursday in the Cardinal Winter Jam.
The Cardinals held Ellinwood to four points in the first and third quarters for a 38-32 victory. Hoisington defeated Ellinwood 51-41 Dec. 8 at the Keady Classic at Larned.
Hoisington (4-6) was paced by Katherine Warnken with 12 points and Emma Harmon with 10 points after scoring 26 points in the teams’ first meeting. The Cardinals (4-6) face Minneapolis for fifth place at 11:30 a.m. Saturday.
Ellinwood’s Allison Panning scored 13 points and Madison Ward added 10 points. Ellinwood (0-10) faces Victoria (0-11) for seventh place at 11;30 a.m. Saturday.
The Cardinals raced to an early 11-4 lead after the first quarter behind 3-pointers from Warnken and Harmon.
Ellinwood’s Ward scored four points down as the Eagles went on a 9-2 run for a 13-13 tie with 3:04 remaining in the half. Warnken ended the half with a deep three at the buzzer to give the Cardinals a 17-13 halftime lead.
The Cardinals outscored Ellinwood 15-4 in the third quarter to stretch their lead to 32-17.
Ellinwood put up a fight in the fourth quarter. The Eagles scored the first seven points of the quarter to cut the lead to 32-24 with 3:38 remaining.
Warnken and Harmon each hit two crucial free throws for a 36-24 lead with 1:37 left in the game.
The Eagles did all they could in the final 97 seconds. The Eagles finished on a 8-2 run. Allison Panning scored six of Ellinwood’s final eight points. In the end, the Eagles didn’t have enough time to finish the comeback.

HOISINGTON 38, ELLINWOOD 32
Ellinwood 4 9 4 15 — 32
Hoisington 11 6 15 6 — 38
ELLINWOOD—Madison Ward 6 2-3 14; Allison Panning 5 0-0 11; Brittney Beck 2 0-0 4; Maddie Hayes 1 1-4 3; Totals 14 3-7 32.
HOISINGTON—Kat Warnken 3 3-4 12; Emma Harmon 3 3-4 10; Jocelynn Pedigo 3 2-2 8; Vikki Donetz 2 1-2 5; Maleigha Schmidt 1 1-4 3; Totals 12 10-16 38.

MINNEAPOLIS 41, VICTORIA 29
Victoria 4 4 8 13 — 29
Minneapolis 6 14 13 8 — 41
VICTORIA—Wagner 4 1-3 9; Leiker 3 0-0 8; Scheck 2 2-2 6; Winter 2 0-0 4; Miller 1 0-0 2; Totals 12 3-5 29.
MINNEAPOLIS—Fuller 5 1-2 11; Laws 5 0-0 10; Korinek 3 2-6 8; Nelson 2 0-0 5; Allison 1 1-2 3; Walker 1 0-0 2; Gregg 1 0-0 2; Totals 18 4-10 41.

HOISINGTON WINTER JAM GIRLS
THURSDAY
Hoisington 38, Ellinwood 32
Minneapolis 41, Victoria 29
FRIDAY
3 p.m.—Ellsworth vs. Russell
6:30 p.m.—Otis-Bison vs. LaCrosse
SATURDAY
7th—Ellinwood vs. Victoria, 11:30 a.m.
5th—Hoisington vs. Minneapolis, 11:30 a.m.
3rd—Semifinal losers, 3 p.m.
1st—Semifinal winners, 6:30 p.m.