Bison girls blaze through Haymakers with 43 points after half

COZAD, Neb. — Radio voice Rich Barnett couldn’t have been more right when junior Paige Bortner swished a three-pointer just before halftime Tuesday night...

“Maybe the lid is off the basket!” Barnett proclaimed even though Cozad still led the McCook girls, 25-17, going into halftime.

Like every buffet on Christmas Day, fans suddenly couldn’t keep up with how quickly Bison shooters feasted on clean looks and making Cozad’s lead disappear.

Still trailing 31-25, McCook outscored Cozad 35-8 in just more than 10 final minutes of game time to take a 60-43 road victory.

“The girls kept their heads up in the first half. I don’t think any of our plays worked. Our shots weren’t falling. Our free throws weren’t falling,” coach Amy Scheil said. “But at halftime, we said we gotta keep on working. We gotta keep running.”

The Bison (4-2 record) on junior Brooklynn Gillen’s steal and layup that gave McCook a 33-32 lead.

Cozad caught them two more times at 35 and 37, but those MHS girls ran off a 7-0 surge as Gillen’s outside jumper forged their 44-37 lead.

The offense was now rolling on pick-n-rolls like Bortner to senior Kori Rippen making it 46-37.

Freshman always-a-force Cali Crawford scored on an offensive putback, then junior Malia Hilker spotted Rippen cutting into the lane for another score.

Rippen soon followed her own miss to give her Bison a 54-39 advantage.

Game over. Watch for more about the Bison.