SYRACUSE – Conestoga senior Autumn Hardesty scored 17 points in the fourth quarter and the Cougars erased an 11-point deficit to sting Syracuse, 56-46, Friday night in Syracuse.
The 5’6″ guard finished with a game-high 25 points and was 13-17 at the free-throw line. Junior forward Sierra Kile added 23 points and 5 rebounds. Senior point guard Gloria Izquierdo grabbed 10 rebounds.
Junior center Meredith Clark led the Rockets with 22 points and 6 rebounds. Syracuse had a 25-16 lead at halftime and led by as much as 11 early in the second half.
Conestoga improves to 17-5, while the Rockets drop to 11-11. The two teams meet again on Tuesday in the Class C1-2 sub-district semi-finals at Weeping Water High School.
Meanwhile, the Syracuse boys basketball team jumped out to a 13-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back in a 74-45 win over Conestoga.
Rockets junior Ben Nannen led all scorers with 28 points and 9 rebounds. He finished with 8 three-point shots and was 4-4 at the free-throw line. Teammate, junior Wil McCoy chipped in 14 points and 3 rebounds.
The Cougars were led by senior JeVon Lewis. The 5’11” guard scored 11 points and snagged 8 rebounds. He needs just three three-pointers to tie a school record for career three-point shots. Junior Jax Madsen added 10 points and 4 rebounds.
Syracuse moves to 12-9 and will be at Plattsmouth on Saturday. Conestoga is now 5-15 and will host Sidney, IA on Saturday.
