By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sports Writer - Salina Post
The Battle for Dickinson County did not disappoint on Tuesday night, with a pair of entertaining games punctuating a heated rivalry before the winter break.
The opening leg of this two-game series would result in a split, as the Chapman girls held on to win a 2OT thriller, and the Abilene boys maintained their streak of dominance over the Irish.
Girls Game (2OT): Chapman 55 vs. Abilene 50
Two teams eager to find their footing took to the floor on Tuesday night, and it was Abilene who came flying out of the gates, taking an early lead and holding it through the end of the first quarter.
Despite facing some early foul trouble, Chapman pressed their advantage hard in transition, cashing in turnovers for points and coming back to take a one-point lead at the intermission.
The two sides traded buckets throughout the second half and in the waning seconds, Sammy Stout buried a free throw to put Abilene up by two, but Adelynn Kirkpatrick sprung loose on an inbound play and dropped in the tying basket to send the game to overtime.
A free-throw-laden overtime period would see just four points added to each team's total, and require a second overtime to sort this game out.
From there, Chapman exploded, rattling off a late run punctuated by a blowby layup for Kiera Jones, and a dagger three from Ava Locke to put the game on ice.
Seven different Lady Irish players found themselves in the scoring column, led by Kiera Jones (16), Ava Locke (12), and Elyssa Frieze (8).
Despite coming up on the short end of the stick Abilene got a few big performances themselves, as Claira Dannefer tallied 21, and Callie Powell added 15 more.
Girls Game: #7 Abilene 56, Chapman 41
On the boy’s side, the Fighting Irish looked to defend their home floor and knock off their biggest rival for the first time in over a decade while the Cowboys ventured to remain undefeated and reassert their dominance.
After a quarter, the Cowboys led 17-12, and from there, both defenses tightened the screws, with just eighth total points scored in the second quarter.
Chapman battled throughout the third quarter but ran out of steam late as Abilene was able to pull away and remain a perfect 6-0 heading into the winter break.
Kelan Gruver and CJ Holm led the way for the Irish with 16 and 9 while Abilene spread their points among seven different Cowboys led by Stocton Timbrook (16), Brax Fisher (12), and Taygen Funston (9).
All four teams will now head into the winter break, with play returning on the hardwood in early January.