March Madness kicks in full gear as Colby, Hugoton girls fall

You never know what's going to happen when seasons go down to the one-and-done time. And two teams which have been at or near the top of the heap found that out the hard way what kind of madness can happen on Tuesday.

Class 3A No. 6 Colby and a strong Hugoton girls basketball squad ended up becoming upset victims in the Class 3A Cimarron Sub-State, both losing at home in tough contests.

Probably the biggest area upset on the girls side happened in what is the final Colby High School game played at the Colby Community Building, as Holcomb managed to take down the Lady Eagles, 43-34.

Madi Ruda was the lone Holcomb player in double figures, scoring 11 points, including six points in the fourth quarter - on a field goal and going 4-for-4 from the foul line to help close out the game. Holcomb went 9-of-14 from the charity stripe in the final eight minutes of the game.

A tough shooting night ended up hampering the efforts of Colby (17-4), who hit just 3-of-21 attempts from the field in the first half, falling behind, 17-12.

Holcomb had a 12-6 edge at the end of the first eight minutes, and held the five-point edge at intermission. The Lady Longhorns outscored the Lady Eagles, 9-7, in the third quarter to take a 27-19 edge into the final quarter of regulation.

And while the Lady Eagles pulled to within one early in the fourth quarter, the Lady 'Horns (7-14) withstood the charge and pushed the lead to as many as 12 points late in the game.

Colby, who ended up making just 11-of-56 shots for the game, was led by Brooklyn Jones and Hallie Vaughn, who each scored 11 points.

While that surprise was going on ...

Goodland 29, Hugoton 27

A tweet from GHS Basketball said it all ...

The Cowgirls overcame a slow start and used their defense to get it done, allowing the Lady Eagles to score just 11 points over the game's final three quarters for the win, and beat Hugoton for the first time since 2011.

Talexa Weeter scored 10 points to pace Goodland (11-10) on offense, but after Hugoton (14-7) had a 16-7 edge in the first quarter, the Cowgirl defense took over the game, allowing just four points in the second quarter, only two in the third and five more in the final period.

The Hugoton defense also looked up to the task until the fourth quarter, when Goodland had a 10-5 edge. The Lady Eagles held a 20-14 lead at halftime, and a 22-19 edge after the third quarter.

Goodland did not capture the lead until the 3 minute, 40 second mark of the fourth quarter, and found a way to hold on for their first postseason win since 2014.

Other games from around the area:

Cimarron 55, Lakin 47

Jaycee WIlson led three Lady Jays in double figures with 16 points as Cimarron rallied back from a slow start and beat Lakin on Tuesday in Class 3A Cimarron Sub-State action.

McKayla Miller added 13 points, while Emily Acton chipped in with 12 for the Lady Jays (14-7), who advance to the semifinals against top-seeded Scott Community on Friday.

Lakin (10-11) held a 16-14 lead after the end of the first quarter, but the Lady Jays outscored the Broncs, 17-7, in the second eight minutes to hold a 31-23 edge at halftime.

Jaya Esquibel had 17 points to pace three Broncs in double figures. Talyn Beltran and Taegan Bachman added 10 points each for Lakin.

Scott Community 67, Southwestern Heights 36

The Lady Beavers also avoided the upset bug, going on a 28-2 run after the game was tied at 9-all in the first quarter and did not look back in their win over the Mustangs.

Amber Lata scored a game-high 19 points to lead four Lady Beavers (18-3) in double figures. Emily Weathers finished with 14 points, Brynn McCormick 12 and Lyndi Rumford 11 for Scott Community, who will play Cimarron in the semifinals on Friday.

Shelby Sutherland led Southwestern Heights (2-19) with 13 points.

Liberal 58, Junction City 23

Katie Hornya scored 21 points as the Lady Red took care of business in their win over Junction City in a 6A West Sub-State contest. Liberal will host Manhattan (11-10), who beat Wichita-Southeast on the road, 48-36, on Friday at 7 pm for the right to go to the State Tournament.

Dodge City 50, Wichita-East 20

Camree Johnson led three Lady Demons in double figures with 16 points as Dodge City turned up the defensive pressure in the final three quarters and ran away from the Blue Aces at the DCHS Fieldhouse in a 6A West Sub-State contest.

Dodge City (17-4) held East to just 6-of-30 shooting from the field (20 percent), and allowed just one field goal in the second half. The Lady Demons, who led 6-4 at the end of the first quarter, outscored the Blue Aces, 41-12, in the middle two quarters and held strong for the win.

Kisa Unruh added 13 points and Chidera Okoro 11 for Dodge City, who will play on Friday at Derby (19-2) at 7 pm for the right to go to the State Tournament.

Hutchinson 53, Garden City 45

Keyhana Turner scored 15 points but the Buffaloes could not hold on to their lead as the Salthawks used a 39-28 scoring edge in the second half to take home the win in a 6A West Sub-State contest and end Garden City's season at 10-11.