Photo Courtesy of Mid-Prairie Girls Basketball Social Media

The Mid-Prairie Golden Hawks hosted the Tipton Tigers in a River Valley Conference doubleheader Tuesday at Tim Grady Gymnasium in Wellman. The Golden Hawk girls were a 58-34 winner over the Tigers on their Senior Night. The Hawks had a slim 12-11 lead after the first and were up 26-19 at half, thanks to an 8-0 second period sprint. Mid-Prairie flipped a switch after half, forcing 18 second stanza Tipton turnovers and outscoring the Tigers 32-15 to runaway with the win. After the game, Golden Hawk seniors Amara Jones and Landry Pacha talked about what led to the victory. Pacha said, “We knew we could beat them down the court. They have two big girls inside, so it was a little challenging, but just having girls on the outside to pass it out to when I got trapped is helpful. I love this group. They are all so amazing and it’s been such an honor to play with them. We all bring such a good energy to each other.”

Jones added, “I feel like we are really good about turning our defense into offense and pushing the ball up the court. Turnovers obviously help that a lot. I think as soon as one person for us starts shooting well, everyone wants to do that too. I have always been waiting for Senior Night since my freshman year. Being out there with my classmates is just awesome.”

Mid-Prairie shot 45% from the floor, forced 30 total Tipton turnovers, had 21 steals and 12 assists. Individually, Jones finished with 18 points and five assists, Pacha and Nora Pennington had 11 points each. The Golden Hawks have now won 10 straight since Christmas, moving their record to 15-5 for the year, 8-2 in the River Valley with a trip to Regina Friday. After the game, Mid-Prairie honored their six seniors, Kylie Reinier, Josie Greiner, Landry Pacha, Amara Jones, Molly Yoder and Maya Nonnenmann with a ceremony.

The Golden Hawk boys dug out of a hole and were sunk by second half heroics from the Tigers in a 51-49 loss. Tipton was on top 18-9 after one quarter and led 30-21 at half. The Tigers extended their lead to 15 in the third before the Hawks poured in 15 straight to tie the game at 36. Tipton scored the final five of the period to lead 41-36 going to the fourth. The last frame was back and fourth, with the Hawks getting important baskets from Ace Peck, Alex Bean, Brady Weber, Shawn Dodds and Camron Pickard, but it was a bench player for the Tigers that hit the two biggest shots, Zach Butler, who averages just four per night, hit a three in the final minute to tie the game, and the game winner on the baseline with two seconds left. The Golden Hawks shot 44% from the floor and hit eight threes, won the battle of the boards by two and had 16 assists. Camron Pickard led Mid-Prairie with 14 points and Shawn Dodds added 10. The loss is Mid-Prairie’s third straight as they fall to 10-9 on the year, 6-5 in conference, Tipton is 7-12 overall.