It was a challenging week of road contests for the Lady Bobcats this week, and the team showed some grit and fire despite two tough losses — a 46-31 defeat to Arcadia/Loup City and an overtime heartbreaker to Ansley-Litchfield, 43-42.

South Loup struggled to find its offensive rhythm early against a sharp-shooting Arcadia/Loup City squad on Tuesday, Jan. 20, which built a commanding 35-10 halftime lead and held on for the 46-31 win.

The Bobcats found late energy in the fourth quarter, putting up 18 points after managing just 13 through the first three. Junior Kamryn Kramer led the team with 9 points, connecting on 5-of-10 from the freethrow line. Jade Bierman added 5 points and hit 1-of-2 from the stripe, while Gracie Brennan and Jimi Fletcher each scored 4 points.

Junior Addi Stump tallied 3 points on 3-of-8 free throws, while senior Neltje Reiff scored 2 points on 2-of-2 shooting from the line, and Asa Starr added 1 point. Emma Stallbaumer rounded out scoring with 2 points for South Loup, which went 13-of-28 overall from the free-throw line.

Arcadia/Loup City shot 44% from the field, while Obermiller and Hurlburt led the Rebels with 12 and 13 points, respectively. The Rebels held a 24-17 rebounding edge and forced 38 turnovers with an aggressive defense.

The Lady Bobcats rebounded with a gritty effort two nights later, taking the Ansley-Litchfield Spartans to overtime before narrowly falling, 43-42 on Jan. 22.

South Loup’s offense came alive in the second half and extra period, spreading the ball around as nine different players scored. Reiff paced the team with 8 points, including 5 clutch points in overtime to keep the Bobcats within striking distance. Starr added 7 points, while Bierman and Stallbaumer each finished with 6.

Free throws proved critical as the Bobcats went 8-of-18 at the line, while the second quarter — where they scored just 4 points — ultimately made the difference in the one-point margin. Still, South Loup’s effort earned praise from the coaching staff.

“The Ansley-Litchfield game was an extremely hardfought game,” said Head Coach Ali Goodenow. “The girls wanted that win extremely bad, and you could tell because they fought hard for essentially five quarters. They showed the fans and the opponents what they’re really made of for the first time this season.”

Coach Goodenow added that the team’s effort and composure down the stretch will serve them well as they head into conference play.

“I am hopeful they’ll take that moment and the experience of how fun that game was to play with them into the MNAC tournament this week,” she shared. “We play Brady on Tuesday in Brady for the third time this season. It’s hard to beat the same team three times in a row — though not impossible — and I’m excited to see what the girls bring to the court.”

Ansley-Litchfield was led by senior Caydence Feldman with 15 points and 7 rebounds, while Kiera Bailey added 8 points and 9 rebounds. The Spartans shot just 16% from the field but converted 15-of-28 free throws and hit 6-of-33 from beyond the arc to seal the win.

The Lady Bobcats enter the MNAC Conference Tournament this week and faced a familiar foe in the Brady Eagles on Tuesday, Jan. 27. The results from that matchup and the remainder of conference play will be in next week’s issue of the Courier. Follow Callaway or Arnold Public Schools Facebook page to keep up-todate on tournament action this week.