The South Gray Runnin' Rebels girls basketball team did what was necessary (and then some) to make amends for the only blemish on an otherwise perfect '07-'08 season by winning the championship game of the Bluejay Invitational Tournament on Saturday.
The Rebels routed the hosting Cimarron Bluejays, the only team that beat the eventual 1A state champs last season, 69-29 for the tourney championship.
Saturday's game was one that South Gray coach Tasha Trundle had been looking forward to since the loss a year ago.
“Last year I walked away from here with second place, and I am not a good loser,” Trundle said. “I don't like to lose, and my girls don't like to lose. My girls remembered this from a year ago — we still talk about it. We were 27-1 and that one loss really hurt us, and I am glad we are leaving here with the championship.”
But the loss for the CImarron Bluejays and coach David Ediger was one that will sting in the present and the future.
“The bottom line is they return a very good team, and they are a very good team,” Ediger said. “But they return everybody, and we return nobody. This is a whole new group that we have.”
The Bluejays were 3A state runners-up a season ago.
The Runnin' Rebels used an aggressive man defense to push the tempo of the game, jumped out to an early 10-2 lead and ended the first quarter on top 13-5.
South Gray missed some jumpers early in the second period and Cimarron was able to stay in the game, down 18-9 with three minutes remaining in the half. But South Gray finished the half with a 10-4 spurt and took a 28-13 lead at intermission.
Trundle said she was expecting a tough game from Cimarron.
“I know coach Ediger. He always has his team ready to play. I knew that coming in,” Trundle said. “They beat Bucklin, they beat Meade — the teams that are supposed to be standouts in our league — and they are beating those teams.”
South Gray led 43-25 at the end of the third quarter and then ran away with the championship with a 26-point outburst in the final period.
“What we learned is that some of the things we've gotten by with — we can't win against good teams doing those things,” Ediger said. “The second half, they wore us down and we didn't get back [on defense], and it's hard to do that when you're getting beat by 25, to keep running hard. And that's something as a young team that we've got to learn.”
South Gray junior Kayla Thomas led all scorers with 21 points. Brigit Hesser and Mikayla Skidmore contributed 18 and 16 points, respectively, to the Rebels' scoring.
Yomaira Rosas was the leading scorer for Bluejays with nine points.
The South Gray Rebels will play host to the Spearville Lancers on Tuesday, while Cimarron will travel to Ulysses for a mid-state matchup with the Tigers.
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The South Gray Runnin' Rebels girls basketball team did what was necessary (and then some) to make amends for the only blemish on an otherwise perfect '07-'08 season by winning the championship game of the Bluejay Invitational Tournament on Saturday.
The Rebels routed the hosting Cimarron Bluejays, the only team that beat the eventual 1A state champs last season, 69-29 for the tourney championship.
Saturday's game was one that South Gray coach Tasha Trundle had been looking forward to since the loss a year ago.
“Last year I walked away from here with second place, and I am not a good loser,” Trundle said. “I don't like to lose, and my girls don't like to lose. My girls remembered this from a year ago — we still talk about it. We were 27-1 and that one loss really hurt us, and I am glad we are leaving here with the championship.”
But the loss for the CImarron Bluejays and coach David Ediger was one that will sting in the present and the future.
“The bottom line is they return a very good team, and they are a very good team,” Ediger said. “But they return everybody, and we return nobody. This is a whole new group that we have.”
The Bluejays were 3A state runners-up a season ago.
The Runnin' Rebels used an aggressive man defense to push the tempo of the game, jumped out to an early 10-2 lead and ended the first quarter on top 13-5.
South Gray missed some jumpers early in the second period and Cimarron was able to stay in the game, down 18-9 with three minutes remaining in the half. But South Gray finished the half with a 10-4 spurt and took a 28-13 lead at intermission.
Trundle said she was expecting a tough game from Cimarron.
“I know coach Ediger. He always has his team ready to play. I knew that coming in,” Trundle said. “They beat Bucklin, they beat Meade — the teams that are supposed to be standouts in our league — and they are beating those teams.”
South Gray led 43-25 at the end of the third quarter and then ran away with the championship with a 26-point outburst in the final period.
“What we learned is that some of the things we've gotten by with — we can't win against good teams doing those things,” Ediger said. “The second half, they wore us down and we didn't get back [on defense], and it's hard to do that when you're getting beat by 25, to keep running hard. And that's something as a young team that we've got to learn.”
South Gray junior Kayla Thomas led all scorers with 21 points. Brigit Hesser and Mikayla Skidmore contributed 18 and 16 points, respectively, to the Rebels' scoring.
Yomaira Rosas was the leading scorer for Bluejays with nine points.
The South Gray Rebels will play host to the Spearville Lancers on Tuesday, while Cimarron will travel to Ulysses for a mid-state matchup with the Tigers.
