If nothing else, the Yuma High School girls basketball team definitely is keeping it interesting.
The Indians likely set some kind of YHS hoops history last weekend, rallying from double-digit deficits to force overtime in back-to-back games, including double-overtime in the second game.
Unfortunately, they still ended up losing both, falling to 7-7 overall and 2-2 in the Lower Platte Activities Association. They dropped out of the Class 2A Top 10 for the first time this season, and fell to No. 18 in the 2A Rating Percentage Index.
They have now played three overtime games this season, including a scintillating win at Brush in December.
“I don’t know who plays three overtime games in a season, but I guess we do,” coach Jeremy Robinson said. “We’ve got to find a better way to start for sure. We’re going to game plan a little differently this week.”
The challenges keep coming as the Indians hosted a tough Chase County Longhorns team out of Imperial, Nebraska, this past Tuesday. The ‘Horns proved to be too much, racing out to a 19-2 lead on their way to handing Yuma a 55-29 loss, dropping the Indians to 7-8 overall.
Now they travel to 2A No. 1 and LPAA-leading Holyoke on Friday for a league game. The Indians gave Holyoke a close battle earlier in the season in The Pit, but now must find a way to tip the scales in their favor on the Dragons’ home floor.
Robinson said that makes them particularly tough is the Dragons do not seem to care who does the scoring from game to game: “Someone else is stepping up if you take another one away. They definitely are beatable, but it is going to be tough.”
Holyoke took control of the LPAA with a 44-35 win over No. 3 Sedgwick County last weekend, after losing by two to the Cougars in early December. The Dragons are 13-1 overall, 3-0 in the LPAA.
The Indians just need to keep battling, and hope the effort, and better execution at certain times, eventually leads to better results as the season progresses.
“We have to pick up some big wins now,” Robinson said. “It will be an uphill battle.”
Yuma’s first overtime effort was a 61-59 home loss to Wiggins last Friday.
It was all Wiggins in the early going as the Tigers took a 17-7 lead early in the second quarter. The Indians went on a 7-0 run to get within four, but Wiggins closed strong for a 27-18 lead at halftime.
The Indians kept sticking around in the third quarter, but Wiggins kept answering to stay ahead by seven going into the fourth.
Senior Sam Wells dropped four straight points for Yuma early in the fourth, followed by five straight from Caddis Robinson to get within 43-41. Wiggins pushed the lead back to seven, 52-45, but Lea Richardson scored four straight, and Robinson knocked down a 3-pointer with 30 secondsleft to tie the score.
The teams were tied at 57 midway through overtime, but the Tigers were able to do just enough to pull out the two-point win.
“It seems like it’s just the little things that wreck us,” Robinson said.
Robinson hit three 3-pointers, finishing with 17 points, seven rebounds and four steals, Richardson had 10 points, seven rebounds and five steals, Ashley Ibanez 10 points and five rebounds, Wells eight points and five rebounds, Emma Rayl five points and two assists, Meidi Reyes four points, three rebounds and three assists, Lyndsey Mekelburg two points, Hailey Eyring two points, Jailyn Mekelburg one point, and Liddy Day two rebounds.
The Indians took the road trip to Peyton the next day, and put on an even more entertaining game in a losing effort.
Yuma trailed 10-9, but Peyton went on a 13-0 run bracketing the end of the first and beginning of the second quarters. Peyton pushed the lead to as much as 17, 28-11, before settling for a 31-16 halftime lead.
The Indians opened the third on a 9-0 run, but Peyton kept doing enough to keep the lead between seven to 10 points.
Yuma went on an 8-0 run early in the fourth to tie it at 43. Peyton went back ahead 48-43, but back came the Tribe to tie it at 49 on Richardson’s bucket, forcing overtime.
Yuma scored the first four points of the extra period, but Peyton came right back with six straight. The Indians led 56-55 when the Panthers scored four straight for a 59-56 lead.
However, Wells knocked down a 3-pointer from the top to tie the score in the final seconds. Rayl stole the inbounds pass and was knocked out of bounds as time expired, resulting in a second overtime.
Three Indians ended up fouling out in the second extra session — Richardson, Robinson and Rayl — and Peyton was able to knock down free throws to pull away to a 71-64 win.
“Making big shots doesn’t seem to be an issue with us,” Robinson said, “but boxing out and rebounding seem to be at times. We just need to simply do our jobs and box out.”
Richardson had a career-high 27 points, along with 11 rebounds and six steals, Wells 10 points and nine rebounds, Ibanez 10 points and five rebounds, Robinson (who played just the second half) seven points and seven rebounds, Rayl six points, eight rebounds and five assists, Reyes two points and five rebounds, L. Mekelburg two points, Jade Lungwitz three rebounds, Eyring two rebounds, and J. Mekelburg two rebounds.
“They sure aren’t going to go away and quit, that’s impressive about them,” Robinson said of his players. “I’d just like to see them play with that urgency from the start. If we did that, we could be really impressive.”
