The South Loup Lady Bobcats were on the road to Brady on Tuesday, Jan. 23, to face the Lady Eagles in the first round of the MNAC (Mid Nebraska Activities Conference) tournament. It was the first meeting of the season for the two teams.

Brady entered the contest with a 9-7 record, while South Loup has struggled on the court this year, only picking up three wins on the season so far. Bobcats senior Bryn Schwarz has consistently led her team in scoring, and did so again last Tuesday, though the Brady defense did manage to contain her more than some other teams have.

Schwarz finished the game with 11 points. Fellow senior Josie Reiff has also been a team leader all season, and contributed 6 points and 4 rebounds against Brady. Schwarz came down with 5 rebounds, had 4 assists and a steal, but it was sophomore Aubrie Birkel who came up big on the boards for the Lady Bobcats, ripping down 6 rebounds. She and Carleigh Liable each added 3 points, while Maggie Birkel and Josie Lehmkuhler each contributed 2 points.

The loss dropped the Lady Bobcats into the consolation bracket where they faced Sandhills Valley Friday evening, Jan. 26, in Arnold, and this time it would be all Bobcats.

Coming out of the gate strong, South Loup was able to triple the score on the Mavericks in the first quarter, 15-5. It was momentum that the Lady Bobcats sustained through the second period as well, adding another 25 points to their score while once again holding Sandhills Valley to single digits.

The score at the half was South Loup 40, Sandhills Valley 12.

The second half looked like a completely different game, as the halftime break seemed to have allowed the Mavericks to find a way to counter the Bobcat attack. The teams ended the third quarter with each putting 10 points on the board.

Heading into the final period South Loup lost a great deal of traction, managing to only score in the single digits. Luckily they had built a huge cushion in the first half which allowed them to seal the win, 58-28.

Tomorrow night, Feb. 2, the Bobcats will host Mullen in Arnold with tip-off set for 4 p.m. Saturday night the seniors will be honored as the Lady Bobcats host Southern Valley in Callaway. The girl's varsity game will get underway at 4 p.m.