BY ADAM COULTER
Salina Post Contributor
Sacred Heart went back on the road Wednesday to face NCAA league foe Ellsworth. As it turned out, both games were closely contested and came down to the final mimutes to decide the winner.
Sacred Heart girls 45, Ellsworth 36
The Lady Knights began the game with an early 7-0 run and, after catching fire offensively, led 20-10 after the opening quarter. The Lady Bearcats made a run of their own and cut the deficit to 26-22 at halftime.
Ellsworth took its lone lead by a single point in the third quarter, but Sacred Heart answered to take a 37-30 advantage into the fourth quarter and held on for a 45-36 road win.
Katie Weiss had an even 20 points to lead Sacred Heart and all scorers. Avery Eshleman added another 14 for the Knights.
Sacred Heart improves to 9-5 overall and is now 3-3 in the NCAA league.
Ellsworth boys 44, Sacred Heart 37
The scoring in the boys game was very similar to the girls contest, but it was Ellsworth that was hot out of the gate. The Bearcats began the game on a 9-2 run and led 17-9 after the opening eight minutes. The Knights were held to only nine points for a second consecutive quarter making the score 28-18 at halftime.
Ellsworth continued to clamp down defensively only surrendering six third quarter points to Sacred Heart although the Knights had one big run left in them. Trailing 35-24 as the fourth quarter began, a 13-1 run gave Sacred Heart what turned out to be its only lead of the night. Ellsworth closed the game an 8-0 run to claim a 44-37 victory.
Michael Matteucci led the Knights with 10 points.
Sacred Heart is now 12-2 overall and 4-2 in the NCAA league.
After a break on Thursday, the Knights travel to Minneapolis for a Friday night doubleheader against the Lions. Pregame is scheduled for 5:50 pm with the girls tipoff at 6pm and the boys to follow. The games can be seen and heard on salinapost.com.