VERDIGRE — Elgin Public-Pope John literally ran Niobrara-Verdigre out of the gym Friday night.
In the season opener for the Wolfpack, three players scored in double figures as the Wolfpack claimed a 56 to 28 victory.
EPPJ raced out to a 27 to 4 lead after the first quarter as Coach Randy Eisenhauer’s up-tempo style of play was too much for the Cougars to overcome.
Midway through the first quarter the Wolfpack held a 16 to 2 lead as all five EPPJ starters found their way into the scoring column.
From there, EPPJ (1-0) put together an 11 to 2 run to close out the first quarter. Leading the way was senior Calli Krebs. From her guard position, she nailed two treys and added a fast break layup to account for eight points in the quarter. Krebs would finished as the game’s leading scorer with 12 points.
Eisenhauer substituted freely for the remainder of the game as the Wolfpack put up 29 points over the final three quarters.
As well as the offense played, their effort on defense was equally impressive as they allowed the Cougars just three points in the second quarter and went into the lockerroom up 41 to seven at halftime.
With the outcome of the game no longer in doubt, the team traded points in the third quarter as each team scored 11. It was only in the fourth quarter, with the Cougars playing their starters against Wolfpack reserves that they outscore EPPJ 10 to 4.
Senior Paige Meis scored 11 points as did junior Allyson Wemhoff. Altogether, nine Wolfpack players scored points in the game.
One key statistic in the game was turnovers. The Wolfpack had 16 compared to 49 for the Cougars.
Erika Kitto led the Cougars with six points.
Wolfpack 56, Cougars 28
Wolfpack…….27 14 11 4 — 56
Cougars………4 3 11 10 — 28
Wolfpack — Marissa Preister 0-0 0-0 0, Araceli Palmer 0-2 0-0 0, Kaylee Martinsen 2-3 0-0 4, Theanna Dunn 0-0 0-0 0, Lydia Behnk 3-9 1-4 7, Calli Krebs 5-11 0-0 12, Paige Meis 3-8 4-5 11, Kirsten Krebs 1-7 0-0 2, Kayce Kallhoff 2-5 0-1 4, Harlie Bode 0-0 0-0 0, Ally Wemhoff 3-14 4-4 11, Skylar Reestman 0-0 0-0 0, Heather Bauer 2-3 0-0 4, Allyson Selting 0-3 1-2 1. Team totals: 21-67 10-16 56. Three-point shots — Wolfpack 4-16 (Calli Krebs 2, Paige Meis 1, Ally Wemhoff 1).
Cougars — Senna Babcock 2, M. Guenther 5, Tala Henry 3, Emily Parks 2, Winona Ware 1, Erika Kitto 6, Megan Cook 2, Ashlyn Hamilton 3, Emerson Randa 4. Team totals: 11-38 5-9 28.
Team statistics: Rebounds – Wolfpack 29 (Lydia Behnk 6, Ally Wemhoff 4), Cougars 30. Assists — Wolfpack 13 (Ally Wemhoff 4), Cougars 5. Steals — Wolfpack 28 (Ally Wemhoff 10), Cougars 5. Turnovers — Wolfpack 16, Cougars 49.
