Cowgirls Fight Off Circle, 30-28

It came down to the wire, but the Culbertson Cowgirls emerged with a 30-28 opening- round win over Circle at the District 2C girls’ basketball tournament held in Sidney on Tuesday, Feb. 15.

Behind by a 26-23 margin, the Cowgirls cut the gap to one point on a 16-footer by Makena Hauge with 2:43 remaining. After Circle missed at the foul stripe, Culbertson pulled even on a free throw by Megan Granbois with 1:46 mark.

The Cowgirls moved ahead when Alicyn Ator’s 14-footer rolled in with 1:11 remaining, but the Wildcats tied the game when Grace Gackle connected from the baseline with 45 seconds left.

After a time-out, Culbertson earned a 30-28 lead on a 14-footer by eighth-grader Ayden Ator with 20 seconds remaining. The Cowgirls then forced a turnover with six seconds left and were able to keep possession the rest of the way.

Top scorers for Culbertson were Hauge with nine, Granbois with seven and Ayden Ator with seven. Also scoring were Perla Burciaga with three, Alicyn Ator with two and Destiny Thompson with two.

Alexis Moline led the Wildcats with 15 points.

The first half ended in an 11-11 deadlock, but Circle gained a 17-13 lead on the scoring of Moline.

After Culbertson’s Ayden Ator hit a three-point- er, Hauge connected on a 16-footer to put the Cowgirls ahead 18-17. A three-pointer by Sierra Nagle gave the Wildcats a 20-18 advantage at the end of the third quarter.

Culbertson scored early in the fourth quarter on two free throws by Granbois and a three-pointer by Hauge to take a 23-22 lead.