Contributing writer
The Goessel High School Bluebirds girls’ basketball team earned a 1-1 record in the week after returning from Christmas vacation, losing to Hope, then defeating Solomon.
Hope 42, Goessel 35
The Bluebirds scored first against Hope, but the 2-0 lead would be their only lead in the game Jan. 3. The Hope girls rattled off 11 consecutive points to lead at the end of one quarter, 11-2. The Goessel girls made fewer mistakes against the Lions pressure defense in the second quarter, but trailed, 26-12, going into the half time break.
The second half saw the Bluebirds begin to warm up as Johanna Hoffman, Alex Hiebert, D’Ambra Kruger and Ali Buller all found ways to score. Goessel pulled a little closer with a third quarter score of 31-22.
In the final period, the Bluebirds began to change the momentum and after a 3-pointer and 2-pointer by Kruger, Goessel only trailed by 3 points, 38-35, with less than two minutes to play. Hope was able to play ball control as the Bluebirds fouled in order to stop the clock. Hope hit some late game free throws to seal their win, 42-35.
Although Jessica Harvey did not score, she led the team with 8 rebounds. Hiebert led the Bluebirds with 12 points, followed closely by Kruger’s 11 points, which represents the highest scoring this season for both girls. Hoffman ended with 6 points; Buller, 4 points; and Aimee Flaming, 2 points.
Goessel 40, Solomon 26
The Goessel girls picked up their first league win on Friday with a splendid third quarter. The Bluebirds eked out an 8-6 lead at the end of the first quarter, but the game at Solomon was tied at 16 at halftime.
In the third quarter the Bluebird defense held the Gorillas to only 3 points as the offense exploded for 14. Alex Hiebert was on the receiving end of some good passes and connected for 9 of her 13 points in the quarter. The Bluebirds led at the end of the quarter, 30-19. For the season, the Bluebirds have been hitting 48 percent from the free throw line, but in the fourth quarter, Goessel was 10 of 14 from the charity stripe, hitting a respectable 71 percent to keep the lead throughout the quarter. Although committing 26 turnovers, Goessel’s defense was their best weapon.
Hiebert scored a season-high 13 points to eclipse her performance against Hope, scoring 25 points for the week. Jessica Harvey finished with 10 points and 5 steals. Ali Buller dropped in a season-high 9 points, going 5 of 6 from the free-throw line. D’Ambra Kruger added 4 points, Johanna Hoffman scored 2, and Aimee Flaming hit 2 free throws. The Bluebird girls are now 2-6 overall and 1-2 in the Wheat State League. Goessel played Tuesday at home against Argonia and will be at Elyria on Friday.