LUSK – The Lady Tiger basketball season got underway last Friday with a pair of games in Kaycee.

Niobrara County High School struggled to score with Courtney Rowley shelved with a knee injury but held an 11-9 first period edge. The Lady Bucs warmed up in the second with a 16-3 run and took the 25-14 lead into the locker room.

Anna Richardson’s 3-pointer helped keep Lusk even after the break but still trailed by 11 points. Neither team did much scoring in the final stanza as the home team took the 45-32 win.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

NCHS 11 3 14 4 – 32

KHS 9 16 14 6 – 45

TEAM STATS

NCHS 10/29 FG; 1/13 3PT; 9/20 FT; 27 REB; 7 AST; 19 TO; 13 PF

KHS 15/38 FG; 2/14 3PT; 9/12 FT; 45 REB; 6 AST; 19 TO; 16 PF

NCHS PLAYER STATS: Scoring – Richardson 10; Larson 6; Potter 5; Krueger 4; Kottwitz 4; Shaw 3. Rebounds- Richardson 8; Larson 5.

A few hours later, NCHS faced Tongue River, and despite a Bryn Bruch triple, the Lady Tigers trailed 9-5 after one period. Shooting woes hurt the Lady Tigers as the Lady Eagles went up 21-15 at halftime. They increased their lead to 10 points in the third quarter.

Lusk mounted a comeback, but the 9-3 scoring edge wasn’t enough as the Lady Eagles held on for the 36-32 victory.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

NCHS 5 10 8 9 – 32

TRHS 9 12 12 3 – 36

TEAM STATS

NCHS 13/35 FG; 1/18 3PT; 3/10 FT; 39 REB; 7 AST; 15 TO; 12 PF

TRHS 12/34 FG; 1/8 3PT; 9/17; 34 REB; 4 AST; 15 TO; 15 PF

NCHS PLAYER STATS: Scoring- Kottwitz 9; Richardson 6; Potter 6; Shaw 4; Krueger 4; Bruch 3. Rebounds- Krueger 8; Potter 8; Richardson 7.

The JV lost to Kaycee 45-25 as Phoebe Allbright led NCHS with nine points. Against TR, the Lady Tigers lost 61-44 as Allbright and Larkin Williams each scored nine points and Krueger added seven.

This weekend the Lady Tigers host Crawford, Neb. on Friday at 4 and 5:30 p.m. before a trip to Sioux County, Neb. on Saturday for 1 and 2:30 p.m. contests.