The Thunder Ridge girls held Franklin, NE scoreless, that's right, scoreless in the first half (26-0) en route to a 37-8 victory. The victory put the No. 5 in Division 1 of 1A rated Lady Longhorns into double digit wins (10-2) this season. Kelsey Atchison (13) and Brittany Kirchoff (12) led Thunder Ridge in scoring. Long time athletic director, Don Weins, who has been attending or officiating high school basketball games for over 34 years, said he had never seen a varsity contest when the opponent had not at least scored a point in a half. The Lady Longhorns travel to Mankato Friday for a NPL game with Rock Hills.

Jenna Farris wasted no time in getting her sixth 28-plus point performance in 12 tries this season. The 5-9 junior guard pumped in 31 points in a 50-31 win against MCL opponent Plainville. Farris who is shooting 81% from the foul line was 12-13 from the charity stripe Tuesday. Lincoln (10-2) moved into the 2A girl's basketball rankings at No. 9 this week. Lincoln hosts Southern Cloud Friday.

Wilson's girls moved up to No. 2 in Division 2 of 1A while the boy Dragons fell to No. 6 in Division 2 of 1A after falling to Sylvan-Lucas in the NPL boys final. Sylvan-Lucas entered the rating No. 8 in Division 1 of 1A while Lakeside, despite losing to Sylvan-Lucas in the semifinals, remained No. 2 in Division 1 of 1A. The Lady Dragons (8-3) advanced to the NPL final losing to Lincoln 36-32. Sylvan-Lucas travels to Tescott Friday while Wilson travels to Beloit to meet St. John/Tipton.

St. John's Beloit-Tipton boys improved to 6-6 Tuesday with a win over Natoma 57-51. It was the second win in a row for the Blujays, who lost back to back overtime games in the NPL Tournament. St. John's/Tipton lost in the quarterfinal 45-41 to Rock Hills before falling to Thunder Ridge in the consolation side 66-62. The Blujays bounced back Saturday with a win over Tescott 45-39 in the 7^th place game. Leave it to the Eilert boys to lead those Jays. Connor who scored 22 and Luke (12 points in game) led their respective team against Natoma. Connor is averaging 14.1 ppg with 10 three-pointers while Luke adds 10.7 ppg. 

The Lakeside boys furthered their county wide bragging rights defeating Osborne, 50-35 Tuesday. The win in basketball was the second over their county rival Bulldogs this season. The Knights defeated the Bulldogs in the Lakeside Tournament, 53-28. When added to the win (32-26) in football it gives the Knights an undefeated sports record (3-0) on the boy's side in Osborne County. The Knights get a rare Friday off this week.

Wilson's Jake Stoppel (27.5 ppg), Tescott's Austin Herbal (20.9 ppg), Lincoln's Wyatt Schroeder (18.1 ppg), Southern Cloud's Grady Brayton (15.2 ppg), and St. John's/Tipton Connor Eilert (14.1 ppg) lead the NPL in scoring according to MaxPreps.com a website that allows coaches to keep on-line stats for viewing and publication. If you don't see your kid on the list, the school or coach probably does not use Maxpreps.com as the official statistical authority for your team. 

Here is a little known fact that when not winning games you look for anything positive to encourage the players and their fans from Logan. Lane Archer, a sophomore, and brother Tracy Archer, a senior, are 2^nd and 4^th in the NPL at taking charges according to Maxpreps. Lane has taken five charges on the season while Tracy has taken three.

Lane is averaging 7.1 ppg while Tracy (8.6 ppg) is leading the team in scoring. Paul Prewo, the athletic director at Logan, who is also the head boy's coach, may get his best shot at winning a game with the Trojans when Western Plains (0-12) comes to Logan February 7^th. The Trojans dropped a tough 52-43 contest against St. Xavier out of Junction City for 15^th place last Saturday. Logan will host Natoma on Friday.

Natoma (2-10) got off the winless side of the ledger with wins over Northern Valley and Logan in the NPL Tournament. No one has played harder or suffered more heartbreak than the Tigers on the boy's side of the NPL. Coach Kurt Grafel's hardwood boys have lost seven games by margins of 9, 6, 8, 1, 1, 6 and 2 points this season. Natoma lost to Sylvan-Lucas 42-41 and Thunder Ridge 40-39 just three days apart. Forecasting the future with a trip to Norton for the 1A Division 2 sub-state, which includes Palco, Northern Valley, Logan and Wheatland-Grinnell, can the Tigers pull one of those March Madness Manias and go to state?. Seniors Corey Dunlap (12 ppg) and Phillip Murphy 11.5 ppg will do their best to see that the Tigers fulfill their dreams. Natoma will look for win No. 3 on the season when they travel to Logan Friday.

Pike Valley got little rest after playing four games in six days at the NPL Tournament. Kora Bergstrom scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in leading the Lady Panthers to their 10^th win of the season 47-27 Monday at Linn. Teammate Averie Gritten also reached double figures with 10 points. Pike Valley will travel to Chase Friday. 6-1 sophomore, Jaid Runft successfully under went knee surgery last Tuesday in Salina. She suffered the injury in the first minutes of the very first game of the season. Best wishes to her on a quick recovery!

This nugget is not NPL related but still makes you go "huh". MCL officials reportedly were in talks with Oakley, TMP Marian of Hays, Hoisington and Ellinwood to see if they were interested in joining the MCL. When voting on the two teams to add to the Mid-Continent League, administration voted on Oakley and Ellinwood. Are Phillipsburg, Norton and Smith Center going to drive through Hoisington to get to Ellinwood?