Erie and Fredonia split its boy-girl doubleheader Tuesday night, with the Yellowjacket girls winning in overtime 50-43, and the Erie boys running away with a 73-31 victory.
Balance was the name of the game at the start of the girls’ game, with the two teams tied at 13 after the first quarter. Fredonia’s Campbell Odell got off to a hot start, hitting two three-pointers to give the Yellowjackets a slight advantage throughout much of the half. However, despite Erie finding itself in some foul trouble, a spread out scoring effort saw the Red Devils take a small 21-20 lead at the half.
Erie jumped out to a slightly bigger lead out of the break, opening things up on a 7-0 run, and kept Fredonia from doing much of anything. The Yellowjackets only scored one basket in the third quarter, and allowed the Devils a 32-23 lead heading into the fourth.
Things got much more interesting in the game’s final few minutes. With Fredonia still trailing by several buckets, Odell and Shaley Sommer hit back-to-back threes to pull back to within 1 point with just 38.1 seconds to play. After an Erie turnover, Zoey Sims hit yet another trifecta with 17 seconds to go, giving Fredonia its first lead since the first quarter.
Fredonia fouled on the inbounds pass, allowing Erie’s Ryleigh Brant two free throws back the other way. Only one was made, and after both teams came up empty on their final chances, the game headed to overtime tied up at 43.
The extra period was all Fredonia. With the added momentum of the comeback effort, the Yellowjackets scored all 7 points in the period to waltz out of Erie with a 50-43 win.
Sims led the scoring effort with 18 points. Odell finished with 12. The Yellowjackets advance to 6-6 on the season, while Erie drops to 5-7.
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The boys game wasn’t close for very long. The Red Devils, ranked #16 in Kansas Class 2A, immediately jumped out to a huge lead. After the first quarter, Erie led 24-3, with only a singular bucket being given up to Fredonia. Things were much better for the Yellowjackets in the second quarter, but a continued outburst of scoring allowed the Red Devils to increase their lead to 45-19 by the halftime break.
Erie didn’t let up out of the locker rooms. Three straight 3-pointers only increased the gap even further, while the defense went back to its stifling ways. The lead grew and grew, eventually reaching over 40 points, as the Red Devils cruised to a 73-31 victory.
Garrett Ruark led the Erie scoring effort with 19, while Ethan Bartholomew added 17. Eric and Ethan Dillinger had 13 and 10 points respectively. The Red Devils are now 10-2 on the season, while Fredonia falls to 2-7.
