The Wauneta-Palisade girls’ basketball team picked up its fourth and fifth wins of the season last week with victories over Perkins County and Garden County.
    WP never trailed in its home win over Perkins County (3-10).
    Alexa Sandman started off scoring in the game, with Haylee Sandman following with a conventional three-point play. A. Sandman knocked down a three-pointer to open up an 8-3 lead. The offense kept clicking for WP. Baskets by Michaela Dukes, Zoey Boos and Payton Yearous, combined with the Sandmans, gave WP a 17-3 lead.  A Dukes basket wrapped up first-quarter scoring with the Broncos leading 19-5.
    The Plainsmen went to a box-and-one to try to slow freshman Cali Cox, which allowed other Broncos to step up.
    Boos knocked in two three-pointers early in the second quarter to increase WP’s lead to 26-8. A. Sandman nailed a three-pointer of her own to jump start the Broncos after nearly a four-minute cold spell.
    Payton Yearous and Cox got on the scoreboard over the final two minutes of the half and H. Sandman converted her second conventional three-point play to boost the Broncos lead to 37-16 at halftime.
    The Broncos started slowly in the second half. Perkins County scored the first five points of the quarter before Yearous grabbed an offensive rebound and scored. Cox shook loose for a three-pointer and added a free throw on WP’s next possession. With baskets from Dukes and Yearous, the Broncos led 48-30 at the end of the third quarter.
    Baskets were made by A. Sandman, Cox, H. Sandman and Peyton Vrbas in the fourth quarter, but there was little flow to the quarter as Perkins County sent the Broncos to the charity stripe often. WP shot 22 free throws and made 15 over the game’s final eight minutes, a 71-45 win.

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