It’s a Sweep for Rams and Lady Rams on the Road

By Editor | February 3, 2024

The Schuyler basketball teams hit the road again last week with three consecutive away games in as many days.

By Sara Smith

First Stop

Wed. Jan. 24 @ Scotland County

The Ram faithful took the trip east to Scotland County on Wednesday after the game had been postponed due to icy road conditions the day before.

The Lady Tigers were at 2-9, while the Lady Rams entered the game with a record of 9-6. The Lady Rams had already played the Lady Tigers at the beginning season during the Tri-Rivers Classic, the Lady Rams won that matchup 54-14.

The game started off slow with the score at the end of the first quarter only 6-2 in favor of the Lady Rams. The action picked up in the second quarter, and the Lady Rams extended their lead to 13 at halftime. The third and fourth quarters were more evenly matched, but the Lady Rams edged out the Lady Tigers in every quarter to come away with a 21-point victory, 47-26.

The scoring leaders for the Lady Rams were Raina Small (18), Claudia Dixon (16), and Taylor Roberts (6). Claudia Dixon had the most rebounds on the night with eight. Kelsey Tallman led the team with six steals.

The Rams were coming off of a championship win on Saturday at the North Shelby Tournament. Their record was 12-2, while the Tigers were 4-5 when the contest began. The Rams had also faced the Tigers earlier in the season, during the Tri-Rivers Classic and had come away with a nine-point victory, 64-56. The score of this game would be eerily similar, with the same result.

The first half was tight, the Tigers went into halftime with a one-point lead, 27-28. The third quarter was a completely different story however, as the Rams just went off and doubled their score in one quarter. The Tigers were down 13 when the fourth quarter started, but they kept battling. They pressed in the last few minutes and gained some ground, but the Rams were able to put the game away, 65-58.

Scoring leaders for the Rams were Kale Windy (25), Connor Smith (13), and Gage Brownell (12). The top rebounders for the game were Connor Smith (9) and Gage Brownell (8), they both also had three blocks apiece. Kale Windy led the team with four steals. Mason Windy had the most assists with seven.

Second Stop

Thurs. Jan. 25 @ North Shelby

After making the trek over to North Shelby several times the previous week for the North Shelby Tournament, it was hard to work up the enthusiasm for yet another journey. But, that is what the schedule said, so off to Shelbyville they went.

The girls teams had faced each other the previous week during the tournament with the Lady Rams pulling off an overtime win (55- 50) on the strength of their free throws. The Lady Raiders entered the game with the exact same record as the Lady Rams, 10-6.

This game got off to a slow start, much like the game the previous night at Scotland County. However, the Lady Rams lit up the scoreboard in the second quarter. At halftime the Lady Rams had a 14-point lead, 26- 12. The Lady Raiders would make a run at in the third quarter and cut the lead to seven, but that was as close as they would come.

This game did not come down to free throws like the contest the week before. However, it was once again the Lady Rams shooting ability that sealed the win, this time it was 3-pointers. The Lady Rams scored 18 of their points from beyond the arc, versus only six points from the same region for the Lady Raiders. That difference of 12 points would be the difference in the game as the Lady Rams get “the dub”, 48-36.

Sidney Aeschliman and Raina Small both had 14 points, while Claudia Dixon and Taylor Roberts each scored 10. Dixon came out the undisputed rebound queen with 13. Kelsey Tallman once again used her speed and court awareness to lead the team with four steals.

In the second contest of the night the 13-2 Rams were set to compete against the 6-10 Raiders for the first time this season. Many of these players had faced off against each other on the gridiron during the football regular season and during the football district championship. Maybe the Raiders were still sore about losing twice to the Rams during the football season, or maybe they don’t know how to play any other way, but this game was rough. A very physical game to say the least.

The good news is that even in a basketball court brawl, the Rams can still come out on top. The first half was close, as the Rams went into the halftime break with a 3-point lead, 23-20. The Rams came out in the second half and put the game away, outscoring the Raiders by double-digits in both quarters. When the dust settled Schuyler moved up to 14 wins on the season with a final score of 71-47.

Leading the charge for the Rams on the scoreboard were Kale Windy (20), Brody Weaver (13), Connor Smith (12), and Gage Brownell (10). Smith topped the rebound column for the Rams with nine, he also had two blocks. Elliott Sevits had six rebounds, and led the team in steals with six. Brody Weaver was right behind him with five steals during the game.

Third Stop

Fri. Jan. 26 @ Knox County

The final games for the week were at Edina, versus the Knox County Eagles.

The Lady Eagles entered the game with a 3-10 record, while the Lady Rams had improved to 11-6. On paper it would seem to be an easy victory for the Lady Rams. However, that was not how this game played out.

The Lady Eagles jumped out to an early lead and held on to that lead for most of the game. The Lady Rams struggled to make baskets, shooting only 32% from the field. They were held to just two points in the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, down by ten, the Lady Rams showed their competitive spirit and their will to win. The Lady Rams got to within three, they continued to chip away; and they edged even closer. Finally, with the score at 28-31 in favor of the Lady Eagles, Sidney Aeschliman let loose with a clutch 3-point shot to tie the game with 22 seconds left on the clock. The Lady Eagles were not able to convert any points after that. The game went into overtime.

During the overtime period the Lady Rams kept riding the momentum gained in the fourth quarter and outscored the Lady Eagles 8-0. The Lady Eagles made the same mistake that other teams have made this season, they started to foul to conserve time. Unfortunately for them, the Lady Rams are good free throw shooters, they scored six of their eight overtime points from free throws, making 75% of their foul line shots in overtime. Once again, the Lady Rams found a way to win, it wasn’t the prettiest, but it was a win. The final score was 39-31. The Lady Rams record improved to 12-6.

After that hard-fought victory, the now 14-2 Rams were to follow up with a match against the 1-12 Eagles. These teams played the week before in the opening round of the North Shelby Tournament. That game ended in a win for the Rams with a final score of 62-35. The difference this time, was that the Rams were just coming off of two physical games, they had to be tired and sore.

Both teams played this game just on the edge of out-of-control, similar to their game the previous week, as evidenced by the high number of turnovers during the game, 14 for the Rams and 18 for the Eagles. Despite that, the Rams outscored the Eagles in every quarter, and out-performed them in every statistical category. The final score was 62-41, Rams.

Heading up the scoring tally was Gage Brownell (18), Kale Windy (15), and Brody Weaver (9). Brownell also lead the team in rebounds with nine. Kale Windy led the team in assists (5) and steals (7). Connor Smith continued his swat streak and added five blocks to his season total.

What the numbers don’t show, is the toll on the players. Both teams played three games in three days… on the road. In the larger scope, taking into account the tournament games played the previous week, they had played six away games in the 10 days. That is a grind. That they were able to come away with wins is a testament to the players, and to the coaches. Their preparation and their planning, in practices and games, in the weeks leading up to this marathon away-game stretch were definitely put to the test.

They will be tested once again in the final week of January as both teams are entered in the La Plata Invitational Tournament during the week of January 29 – February 3. The boys bracket will be played out on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. While the girls bracket will run on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. The boys will also play the 16-3 New Franklin Bulldogs at the Mid- Missouri Invitational in Harrisburg on Saturday, February 3rd.