Wellington boys qualify for the Cheney Tournament Championship; girls win big
Crusaders open up 38-25 lead vs. Pratt. pic.twitter.com/BnSOKvCMd5
— Tracy McCue – Sumner Newscow (@Cueballnewscow) December 8, 2023
By Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — The Wellington boys basketball team qualified for the Cheney Tournament championship for a second consecutive year with a 48-36 victory over Pratt Thursday night.
The Wellington girls defeated Pratt easily 55-26 and will play for third place. Both teams are 2-1.
The boys dominated Pratt 48-36 to qualify for their second consecutive Cheney Tournament championship game (they won last year over Hutchinson Trinity Catholic). The Crusaders will play the same HTC team at 7:45 p.m. on Thursday.
“Our strategy going into the game was to know where Pratt Arley Morrell was on the floor at all times,” said Joe Newman, Wellington’s head boys basketball coach. “He had 25 of Pratt’s 48 points in their win over Cheney on Tuesday. He’s a good player and made some plays. But we limited him to 11 points and six boards, which is outstanding.”
Wellington opened with a 7-4 first-quarter lead but warmed up considerably in the second with a 19-15 output to lead 26-19 at the half.
“Towards the end of the first half, Pratt was beginning to figure out our 1-3-1 zone defense,” Newman said. “We came out in the second in a 2-3 zone and stifled their offense. Our length forced them into difficult shots.”
Wellington dominated the third quarter, outscoring the Greenbacks 16-9 to take a 42-26 lead into the fourth. Pratt would narrow the margin to 10 late but never really threatened thereafter.
Wellington shot 42.3 percent and had a 50 percent proficiency rate inside the paint. Wellington dominated the boards outrebounding Pratt 34-27 while getting 13 offensive rebounds.
Carter Burnett scored 21 points to lead the Dukes to victory. Morice Ayers followed with 8.
“We now played a quick, scrappy Hutchinson Trinity team,” Newman said. “It should be a great game.”
The full stats can be found here: Wellington vs. Pratt boys, Dec. 8, 2023
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Valerie Norwood, smooth as yogurt, with the 3. pic.twitter.com/gtApIHOIXn
— Tracy McCue – Sumner Newscow (@Cueballnewscow) December 8, 2023
In the girls’ game, Wellington was completely dominant over Pratt after losing its Monday game at Cheney.
Wellington opened with a 21-10 first-quarter lead and was up 36-15 at the half. The Crusaders opened up a 53-21 lead after three quarters en route to a running-clock victory.
Three Wellington girls were in double figures: Valerie Norwood 15, Britt Zeka 15 and Lyndi Barton 10.
The Crusaders will now battle Hutchinson Trinity Catholic at 2:30 p.m. in the third-place game.
Wellington 55 Pratt 26
Pratt — 10 5 6 5 — 26
Wellington — 21 15 17 2 — 55
Pratt: Donnenwerth 11, Hughes 6, Hamm 4, Theis 3, Armendariz 2. Total: 7 2 6-10 26. Wellington: Norwood 15, B. Zeka 15, L. Barson 10, Cornejo 5, D. Zeka 5, Gregory 4, Goodrum 1. Total: 14 (8) 3-6 55.
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In junior varsity action, Pratt boys beat Wellington 50-47. Scoring for Wellington were: Cooper Hatfield 10, Greer Buchanan 12, Newman 5, Branam 10, Clift 1, J. Norris 2, Zeka 3, Bannister 2.
Wellington junior varsity coach Chad Whaley states:
“The reason why we lost this game is because we went 6-of-22 at the free throw line. I want that in bold headlines.”
