LITTLE RIVER GIRLS HANDED 1ST LOSS, TAKE 2ND AT INVITATIONAL

By Staff

            ELBING – The Little River girls, ranked number one in Class 1A Division I, lost for the first time in the 2022-23 season on Saturday when they were defeated 73-65 by Sunrise Christian Academy at the Eli J. Walter Invitational hosted by Berean Academy.

            Now 12-1 for the season, the Lady Redskins are scheduled to be back on the hardwood on Tuesday when they host Solomon.

            Little River held a slim one-point, 17-16 lead at the end of the first quarter when Sunrise Christian outscored the Lady Redskins 25-11 in the second quarter to put Little River behind by 13 at 41-28 at the halftime break. While Little River was able to rally a bit in the fourth quarter, they fell short in being served the eight-point loss.

            Free throws and fouls were a major issue for the Lady Redskins as they were whistled for 22 fouls in the game while only being able to connect on 11-of-23 free throw attempts they were given.

            Only five Lady Redskins put points in the scorebook with Aubrey Olander and Alaina Eck leading the team with 25 and 20 points, respectively. Aubrey was the go to person for the entire game as she had a huge double-double in grabbing 16 rebounds. Sister Havana Olander also recorded a double-double as she reached double digits in scoring with 12 while grabbing 10 rebounds. 

            Adelynn Strecker led the offense with four assists while both Havana Olander and Evie Look each dished out three.

LITTLE RIVER LADY REDSKINS vs. Sunrise Christian Academy at the Eli J. Walter Invitational

SCORING: LITTLE RIVER > 17-11-17-20 = 65; Sunrise Christian > 16=25=17=15 = 73.

LITTLE RIVER TEAM STATS > 2-FGs – 27/50; 3-PTs – 0/3; FTs – 11/23; AST – 13; REBs – 34; TO – 11; STLs – 7; BLKs – 2; FLs – 22.

LITTLE RIVER INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS: Scoring > Aubrey Olander – 25; Alaina Eck – 20; Havana Olander – 12; Ashley Stephenson – 6; Arika Feldman – 2.  Assists > Adelynn Strecker – 4; H. Olander, Evie Look – 3.  Rebounds > A. Olander – 16; H. Olander – 10; Look – 3; Feldman – 2.  Steals > Stephenson – 2.  Blocked Shots > A. Olander, Feldman – 1.

(The Staff covering McPherson County Activities can be reached by email at crossdovewriter@gmail.com)