RAPID CITY, S.D. – The Rapid City Christian basketball teams made a statement by taking two convincing wins from the Sturgis Scoopers on Tuesday night at Hart Ranch.
The Lady Comets shot the lights out in the first half, making 12 of 24 field goals and two of two free throws, led by eighth grader Hayden Thorton, who scored 11 in the second quarter. Rapid City Christian led Sturgis at the halftime break, 31-15.
The onslaught continued in the third quarter as the Lady Comets made nine of 14 shots, including four three pointers, to extend their lead to 52-23 after three. Sturgis made a run in the fourth quarter but it was too little, too late as Rapid City Christian took the win, 53-40.
Kaylee Whatley led Sturgis (2-7) with 12 points and four rebounds. Reece Ludwick added nine tallies and eight boards. Olivia Kieffer scored 17 for the Lady Comets, who improve to 7-3 on the season.
The Scooper boys battled with the Comets through the first quarter and trailed 8-6 after one. Carson Glassbrenner dropped in six of Rapid City Christian’s 10 points in the second quarter to help the Comets take an 18-11 lead into halftime.
Both the Scoopers and the Comets scored 14 points in the third quarter. Dysen Peterson snared three offensive boards, converting easy buckets on all three to lead Sturgis with nine points in the third. The Scoopers battled hard throughout the fourth, but could only make three shots on 10 attempts. The Comets didn’t fare much better, making two of nine field goals in the final quarter, but they made two of four at the charity stripe to defeat the Scoopers, 38-33.
Peterson scored 13 for Sturgis (1-8), with Ty Buus and Owen Cass chipping in nine apiece. Glassbrenner and Jackson DiBona both dropped in eight for Rapid City Christian, who improves to 6-3 on the year.
The Scooper boys and girls are on the road again Thursday, visiting Rapid City Central. The girls game is scheduled to tip off at 6:30pm. Gary and Terry will have all the action for you on the Big 81 with pre-game starting at 6:20pm.
