The Hoisington girls’ (3-6, 2-2 CKL) defense led them to victory in a rematch against Ellinwood (0-9, 0-2 CPL) at the Hoisington Activity Center on Thursday. The Cardinals held Ellinwood to just four points in the first and third quarters on their way to a 38-32 victory.
Hoisington defeated Ellinwood in a much higher-scoring game on Dec. 8 in Larned, 51-41.
The Cardinals raced to an early lead on Thursday night behind threes from Katherine Warnken and Emma Harmon. Maleigha Schmidt converted one of two free throws to give Hoisington a 7-0 lead before Ellinwood got on the board. Hoisington led 11-4 at the end of the first quarter.
The Ellinwood offense hit its stride in the second quarter. Madison Ward scored four points down as the Eagles went on a 9-2 run to tie the game at 13-13 with 3:04 remaining in the half. After making one of two free throws at the 2:20 mark, Warnken finished the half with a deep three at the buzzer to give the Cardinals a 17-13 halftime lead.
Warnken led the Cardinal’s balanced scoring attack with 11 points. Harmon, who scored 26 in the Dec. 8 matchup with Ellinwood, finished with 10 on Thursday night. Jocelynn Pedigo added seven. Vikki Donets added five.
Hoisington never gave up their lead in the second half. 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 eight with 3:38 remaining.
Warnken and Harmon each hit two crucial free throws at the 3:30 and 1:37 marks respectively.
Facing a 12 point deficit, the Eagles did all they could in the final minute-and-a-half of the ballgame. The Eagles took advantage of missed free throws from the Cardinals and went on an 8-2 run to close out the game. Allison Panning scored six of Ellinwood’s final eight points.
In the end, the Eagles didn’t have enough in the tank to mount the comeback. Harmon drained one final free throw at the three second mark as Hoisington held on for a 38-32 win.
Ellinwood was led by Allison Panning with 13 points. Madison Ward finished with 10.
Hoisington moves to 4-6 on the season. The Cardinals will face Minneapolis in the fifth-place match on Jan. 21.
Ellinwood remains winless on the season, moving to 0-10. They will face Victoria in the tournament’s seventh-place game on Jan. 21.

Hoisington 38, Ellinwood 32
Hoisington: 11 6 15 6 - 38
Ellinwood: 4 9 4 15 - 32