Wellington boys off to slow start in league, girls dominate Rose Hill
Carter Burnett on the fast break. He led Wellington with 15 points.
By Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — Wellington opened the Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League Division. IV scheduled with a thud, losing the boys’ contest 50-45 against Rose Hill.
Wellington had no trouble beating the Rockets in the girls game, winning 54-14.
“We struggled to find our rhythm; we had miscommunication and poor execution leading to 18 turnovers,” said Joe Newman, Wellington head boys basketball coach. “It’s a frustrating loss, but we will get better from this. Our philosophy is we win or we learn.”
Rose Hill’s Jace Evans scored 21 points from the field, leading the Rockets to victory. Carter Burnett led Wellington with 15 points.
After the Crusaders spotted the Rockets 6 points to open the game, Wellington took a 12-8 lead into the second quarter. The Crusaders expanded the lead to six but saw Rose Hill come back to retake the lead. It was 20-18 at the half. The two teams got after it in the third with Wellington narrowing the margin to one, 38-37 going into the fourth.
The Crusaders committed some costly turnovers to help give Rose Hill a 43-39 lead. Eventually, Wellington tied the game on a Morice Ayers jumper at the 1:51 mark to make it 43-43. Rose Hill upped it to three, but Wellington missed a couple of 3-pointers down the stretch and Rose Hill won by five.
Wellington could not buy a basketball beyond the arch, going 1 of 9 at the 3-point line. The Dukes shot 43.6 percent for the night, while the Rockets were 44.2 percent.
Wellington has an opportunity to get back on track. Friday the Crusaders travel to El Dorado. The Wildcats lost to Clearwater 55-50 on Tuesday.
Full stats can be found here: Wellington-Rose Hill boys 12-23-23.
Lyndi Barton with the layup vs. Rose Hill.
In the girl’s game, as expected, Wellington had no problems with Rose Hill. At one time, this was one of the most intense rivalries in the AV-CTL DIV, sometimes determining the league crown. However, it hasn’t been the case recently, as Wellington has been dominating.
The Crusaders got off to a slow start. They were down 4-2 with 1:25 to play in the first quarter. Then Britt Zeka hit a 3-pointer, and Wellington took control. By quarter’s end, they were back on track leading Rose Hill 9-4. They ended up on a Wellington went on a 22-0 run and was leading 31-10 at the half.
Wellington would outscore Rose Hill 21-2 in the third quarter, holding the Rockets to just one file goal the whole second half.
Scoring for Wellington were Valerie Norwood, 12; Cruz Cornejo, 11; Lyndi Barton, 9; Britt Zeka, 9; Ella Goodrum, 6; Kyrie Gregory, 2; and Dru Zeka, 3. Wellington had six 3-pointers Tuesday night. They had seven last Saturday vs. HTC.
Wellington will play struggling El Dorado, which lost to Clearwater Tuesday 68-18.
