The Solanco girls basketball team split its two games at the Twin Valley Tip-Off Tournament. The Mules defeated Lancaster Mennonite 58-46 in the consolation game Saturday. "This was a complete team effort," Solanco coach Chad McDowell said. "Everyone contributed to the win." Just as it had in the opener the day before, Solanco started strong. The Mules led 9-0 and held a 17-9 edge at the end of the first quarter.
"We were able to score in transition," McDowell said. "We got up and down the floor and got some easy buckets." Lancaster Mennonite narrowed the gap to four in the second quarter. "After a timeout we were able to refocus and get right back at them." Leading by 10 at halftime, Solanco outscored Lancaster Mennonite 18-7 in the third quarter to put the game away. "We got more transition baskets," said McDowell. "Our defense and rebounding were solid. Everything came together." Nikki Boultinghouse had a huge game for the Mules, finishing with 20 points and 10 rebounds. "Nikki did a great job of getting down the floor," McDowell said. "She got to the low block ball-side and we were able to get her the ball." Gabby Rossi recorded 10 points, eight assists, four steals, and three rebounds. Grace Kreider collected nine points, 11 rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Jess Cabrera contributed eight points. Aleksa Burger provided four points, three rebounds, and two steals. Liz Mowrer notched three points and three rebounds and Hanna Phillips had three points and two rebounds. Jen Eberly chipped in one point and five rebounds. In the tournament opener Friday night, host Twin Valley upended the Mules 51-29. "It was a tale of two halves, more so a tale of one quarter," said McDowell. Solanco stormed out to an 8-0 advantage and held a 15-6 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Mules led 22-15 at halftime before Twin Valley rallied to take the lead in the third quarter. The hosts pulled away by outscoring Solanco 21-4 in the fourth quarter. "We went cold in the second half," McDowell said. "We had a lot of good looks at the basket but could not convert. We didn't do anything wrong. We just struggled to score." The Mules also got into foul trouble with Boultinghouse missing stretches before fouling out early in the fourth quarter. Rossi led Solanco with 11 points and Boultinghouse added eight. Burger registered four points, five rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Eberly added two points, eight rebounds, and two steals. "Overall, we played well this weekend," said McDowell. "It was a good tournament for us. We built team unity and gained experience. All 14 of our players got into the game Saturday. I was a little worried that it might be a repeat of Friday but I give credit to the girls for learning from the mistakes we made the first night." The Mules have two home games this week. Cedar Cliff visits Wednesday night with the JV game starting at 6 p.m. and the varsity to follow at about 7:30 p.m. Solanco hosts Cedar Crest Friday night with the same start times. "It's a big night for Solanco girls basketball," said McDowell. At the game, Solanco will be collecting toys for the Solanco Toy Drive. Anyone who brings a new, unwrapped toy will be admitted for free. McDowell says the toy drive benefits local families. Comments are closed.
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