RHS girls drop games to conference foes

RANDOLPH — After finding their rhythm with a four-game win streak, the Randolph Lady Cardinals ran into back-to-back buzzsaws last weekend.

The Randolph girls (6-11) fell 61-32 to visiting Plainview before dropping a 60-33 decision against Winnebago in Saturday’s Lewis and Clark Conference tourney opener.

The Lady Cardinals will get back to the tournament on Thursday before travelling to Allen to take on Tri County Northeast next Tuesday.

Against Plainview, Randolph fell behind 31-9 at halftime and the deficit was too great for a rally, despite Jaiden Taylor’s 18 points and seven rebounds to lead the local girls.

Winnebago broke out to a 33-15 first-half edge at Ponca High School as they held off the Lady Cardinals who were led by Keely Pinkelman’s 10 points and four rebounds and Taylor’s eight points and five rebounds.

“Against Plainview we had 29 turnovers and shot the ball horribly,” Randolph head coach Marcus Papenhausen said. “The effort wasn’t there defensively as well. Overall, it was one of our worst games that we have played this year.

“Going against Winnebago we knew that they would be shooters and they proved us right. We weren’t able to match their shooting prowess and that led to their victory. The effort was much better on the court, but we need to be able to convert more shots.”

Now Papenhausen is hoping to see his girls bounce back this week as hopes to get their momentum back.

“I don’t know who we will play Friday since it is a tournament but hopefully, we can make more shots than in the previous games,” he said. “I am worried about getting through our conference tournament here first. Not sure what our expectations are heading towards the end of season, but I want to see the girls continue to improve and work hard. It’s a long season but we are winding down and I want them to keep having fun so maybe we can earn a few more victories and send the seniors out on a high note.”

Gracie Eledge said the Lady Cardinals clearly struggled in the two losses and fell victim to Winnebago’s off-and-on shooting from outside being “pretty on.”

“We had a four-game winning streak, and I don’t know what happened, but maybe it was the long break, since we didn’t have a game for about six days and we might have lost that momentum,” Eledge said. “We play Plainview again and I think that should be a better game. I think we should be able to bounce back. We knew Winnebago as a pretty tough team to beat.

“We should be fine. I think knowing who is in our SubDistrict and having time to prepare for them, we should get at least a win. Everyone just needs to contribute to scoring and work on their confidence with the ball and going to the hoop. Everyone needs to want to shoot, get points and get the team going.”

SCORING

Randolph - Jaiden Taylor, 18; Erin Engel, 4; Keely Pinkelman, 3; Grace Nordhues, 3; Aerial Fye, 2; Gracie Eledge, 1; Jenna Albers, 1.

REBOUNDS

Randolph - Jaiden Taylor, 7; Natalie Munter, 6; Jenna Albers, 4; Emmalee Harder, 4; Erin Engel, 4; Gracie Eledge, 3; R Winkelbauer, 2; Keely Pinkelman, 1; Ella Scott, 1; Grace Nordhues, 1.

ASSISTS

Randolph - Natalie Munter, 2; Emmalee Harder, 2; Jaiden Taylor, 1.

STEALS

Randolph - Gracie Eledge, 3; Jaiden Taylor, 2; Keely Pinkelman, 2; Emmalee Harder, 1; Ariel Fye, 1; Grace Nordhues, 1.

SCORING

Randolph - Keely Pinkelman, 10; Jaiden Taylor, 8; Natalie Munter, 4; Ariel Fye, 4; Grace Nordhues, 4; Gracie Eledge, 3.

REBOUNDS

Randolph - Jaiden Taylor, 5; Gracie Eledge, 4; Natalie Munter, 4; Keely Pinkelman, 4; Jenna Albers, 4; Emmalee Harder, 3; R Winkelbauer, 2; Emma Munter, 1; J Backer, 1; Ariel Fye, 1; Grace Nordhues, 1.

ASSISTS

Randolph - Jaiden Taylor, 3; Natalie Munter, 2; Emmalee Harder, 2; Gracie Eledge, 1.

STEALS

Randolph - Natalie Munter, 2; Jaiden Taylor, 2; Keely Pinkelman, 2; Emmalee Harder, 2; Ariel Fye, 1.

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