The Chadron State College women's basketball team forced the Nebraska-Kearney Lopers to go all out on their home court Saturday afternoon in order to hold off the Eagles 74-65.

              Chadron State trailed by just 66-63 with five minutes left before the hosts scored eight of final 10 points to seal the verdict.

              Now 6-0, the Lady Lopers had outscored their previous three foes 285 to 97 before the Eagles came calling. 

              A nearly two-to-one margin at the free throw line allowed Kearney to win the game. The Lopers were 25-35 at the line while the Eagles were 13-17.  Both teams sank 24 field goals, but the Eagles hit four 3-pointers—one in each quarter--while the hosts made only one.

              Kearney jumped out to a 10-2 lead and was ahead 20-9 at the end of the opening period.  However, during the next three quarters, the Eagles tallied 56 points, two more than UNK.

              The third frame was the best offensively for both teams.  Kearney was five of eight from the field and 11 of 14 at the free throw line for 21 points, but the Eagles were nine of 13, including a trey, and five of six at the charity stripe for 24 points.

              Shay Powers was CSC's leading scorer with 15 points and the team's other stalwart during the past three years, Olivia Waufle, checked in with 10.  The Eagles also got a big lift from 6-foot-3 Awoti Akoi, who made all five of her field goal attempts in the second half while tallying 12 points before fouling out with 2:50 left to play.

              In addition, sophomore Allison Olsen finished with nine points and seven rebounds, and junior guard Kadyn Comer made two of three shots from behind the arc while scoring eight points.

              Kearney was led by super senior Shiloh McCool with 23 points and 10 rebounds for the 21^st double-double of her career.  Redshirt freshman Bailee Sobczak added 13 points and another fifth-year player, Kia Wilson, contributed 12. 

              The Eagles will join the CSC men in opening their Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference schedule this coming weekend, Dec. 1-2, by visiting Colorado State-Pueblo and New Mexico Highlands.          

              Chadron State—Shay Powers 15, Awoti Akoi 12, Olivia Waufle 10, Allison Olsen 9, Kadyn Comer 8, Kylie Krise 7, Kyra Tanabe 2, Liberty Line 2. Totals: 24-53 (4-16) 13-17 65 points, 27 rebounds, 16 turnovers.

              Nebraska-Kearney—Shiloh McCool 23, Bailee Sobczak 13, Kia Wilson 12, Trinity Law 10, Meg Burns 8, Jillian Aschoff 6, Lexi Moes 2. Totals: 24-47 (1-8) 25-35 74 points, 31 rebounds, 16 turnovers.

              Chadron State              9          18         24         14       ---65

              Nebraska-Kearney      20         17         21         16       ---74

              3-pointers: CSC—Comer 2, Olsen 1, Krise 1.  UNI—Burns 1.

Three-point difference hampers Eagles

                Three-pointers made much of the difference Saturday afternoon as the University of Sioux Falls men's basketball team took a 84-72 decision from Chadron State during non-conference action in Sioux Falls. 

                 The winning Cougars made 11 of 22 shots for 50% from 3-point territory, while the Eagles were just five of 18 from behind the arc for 27.7%.

                 The four Sioux Falls players who scored in double figures made 10 of their 12 long range shots. The leaders were seniors Jake Kettner, who made all three of 4 of his 3-point attempts while finishing with 15 points, and Jack Thompson, who was three of four on treys while posting a game-high 25 points. 

                 In addition, both Shawn Warrior, who added 15 points, and Creighton Morisch, who scored 11, were two-of-two from long range. 

                Bryce Latimer led the Eagles with 26 points, followed by Josh Robinson with 14. Dalton Peterson added ten more points for the Eagles.

              The Eagles opened the game by making their first three shots for a 6-0 lead and were ahead 21-14 midway in the first half. But they failed to score during the next six minutes while Sioux Falls built a 32-23 lead before the Eagles finally broke their drought.  The halftime score was 34-32.

              Overall, the Cougars shot 35.3% and the Eagles 41.9% in the first half. Both teams shot considerably better in the second half, with Sioux Falls hitting 61.3% and the Eagles 57.1%. 

              The margin on the scoreboard was at least 14 points throughout the final 20 minutes.

              Sioux Falls out-rebounded the Eagles 28-20 and was credited with 19 assists compared to just six for the visitors. Leading scorer Thompson also had eight assists.  

              The Eagles, now 2-3 for the season, will open their Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference schedule this coming weekend by playing at Colorado State-Pueblo and New Mexico Highlands. They'll be home on Saturday, Dec. 9 against Western Colorado.

              Sioux Falls is now 3-3.  

              Chadron State—Bryce Latimer 26, Josh Robinson 14, Dalton Peterson 10, Raul Nunez 8, Jarrett Taylor 6, Porter Anderson 4, Jalen Patterson 2, Julio Phipps 2. Totals: 28-58 (5-18) 9-9 72 points, 20 rebounds, 12 turnovers. 

              Sioux Falls—Jack Thompson 25, Jake Kettner 15, Shawn Warrior 15, Creighton Morisch 11, Noah Puetz 7, Kenji Scales 6, Kyle Ingwerson 3, Jack Cartwright 2. Totals: 31-66 (11-22) 11-16, 84 points, 28 rebounds, 9 turnovers.

              Chadron State              32            40        ----72
              Sioux Falls                    34            50        ----84

              3-pointers: CSC—Peterson 2, Taylor 2, Latimer 1.  USF—Kettner 3, Thompson 3, Warrior 2, Morisch 2, Ingwerson 1.

Fago named RMAC First Team All-Academic

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Mayson Fago, a senior from Evans, Colorado, was named to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Volleyball First Team Academic All-Conference team, the league office announced on Wednesday.
 
Fago has a 3.90 GPA and is majoring in Psychology.
 
Fago, who was named All-RMAC Honorable Mention on November 15, finished the season leading the Eagles with 283 kills, an average of 2.89 per set. She hit .195 offensively at the net and had 45 blocks defensively at the net.
 
With 283 kills, Fago finished the year ranked 10^th in the conference. Her average per set was ranked 15^th in the RMAC.
 
Teammates Paige Boitz, Bella Adams, Allie Ferguson, Rylee Greiman, Kiley West, Maddison Wright and Lexi Hurtado all were named to the RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll list.
 
The 2023 RMAC Volleyball Academic Player of the Year was Rylee Hladky of MSU-Denver.
 
2023 RMAC Volleyball First Team Academic All-Conference

* 2023 RMAC Volleyball Academic Player of the Year