The South Loup Lady Bobcats endured a challenging two-game weekend stretch, falling to Maxwell and Brady on Friday, Jan. 16 and Saturday, Jan. 17, respectively. Despite showing determination and flashes of improvement on the boards, the Bobcats couldn’t overcome cold shooting in either matchup.

The Maxwell Wildcats capitalized on an efficient offense to hand South Loup a 56-18 loss Friday night in Arnold. The Lady Bobcats were limited to 17 field goals on 46 attempts and went 2-of-10 from the free-throw line. Sophomore Rae Hagler led South Loup with 4 points and 4 rebounds, while sophomore Ella Stallbaumer added 4 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 assist. Freshman Gracie Brennan contributed 3 points and pulled down a team-high 9 rebounds. Senior Tyra Brestel and junior Addi Stump each scored 2 points, and senior Neltje Reiff finished with 1 point and 6 rebounds. As a team, South Loup collected 28 rebounds, tallied 5 steals, and forced several turnovers in the second half.

The Wildcats, led by senior Madelyn Flock with 16 points, shot 20-of-49 from the floor and went 11-of-17 from the free-throw line. Senior Kristyn Cheek added 17 points, and junior Emory Christensen chipped in 12 as the Wildcats extended their lead through all four quarters.

On Saturday, the Lady Bobcats fell to Brady 5430 on the road. South Loup struggled to get on the board early, trailing 29-8 at halftime before finding a bit more offensive rhythm late. The Bobcats were led by consistent effort in the post and second-half scoring from younger players, but the Eagles’ balanced offense proved too much to overcome.

Brady opened with a 16-2 first quarter and maintained control throughout the game, with the Lady Bobcats matching them 13-13 in the final period to close strong. Individual stats for South Loup from the Brady game were not available at press time.

Despite the losses, the Bobcats continue to show grit and defensive hustle. With key contributions from both upperclassmen and underclassmen, South Loup will look to continue building on small successes to find their first win of the season as they head into the heart of their schedule.

The Lady Bobcats started this week with a Tuesday, Jan. 20 game on the road against Arcadia/Loup City, and the results of that game will be in next week’s Courier. Today, Jan. 22, they hit the road again to challenge the Ansley/Litchfield Spartans at Ansley, with tip-off set for 4:30 p.m. for jv games. Varsity will follow.