92.1 KMZA Broadcast - Riley County at Axtell (girls) - click here to listen 
92.1 KMZA Broadcast - Riley County at Axtell (boys) - click here to listen

Looking to continue to build the Axtell Eagles welcomed Riley County to town for their final basketball tilt before the holiday break and while the Eagles fought in the battle of the birds the contests went in favor of Riley County at the end of the night. Riley County girls claimed a 61-31 win, while the Falcon boys won 48-31. 

The night started slow for both Axtell and Riley County girls as the Eagles took the initial lead at 2-0 with a pair of Emily Ronnebaum free throws, but a pair of Bethany Crubel buckets made it 4-2 Riley County. It remained 4-2 for a good portion of the first quarter until the both teams netted a few more points and at the end of the first Riley County held a 12-6 lead. The lead got pushed up to 10 points multiple times in the second but Axtell cut the lead to seven in the final minutes of the first half and had the ball with a chance to make it four or five-point deficit but a turnover was turned into a bucket for Riley County and the Falcons closed the first half with a 6-0 spurt to lead 30-17. The cold shooting continuing in the second half for Axtell while Riley County caught fire in the third outscoring the Eagles 26-7 in the frame led by 10 points from Crubel in the quarter. Riley County went on to grab the 61-31 win. 

Axtell in the loss got six points each from Emily Ronnebaum and Anna Buessing in the contest with seven different gals scoring on the night. Ronnebaum earned Community National Bank "Player to Bank On" honors on KMZA. The loss send Axtell into the holiday break with a 1-5 record on the season. 

Riley County in the win improved to 4-1 on the year and was led by Crubel who netted 26 points on the night. 

The Axtell boys started the night with great energy early but offensive rebounds and second chance points by Riley County all night were taken advantage of by the Falcons to push them to the win. Both teams got off to a slow start offensively but Axtell held a 5-0 lead and led 7-6 after the first quarter. Riley County took the lead for themselves just about 30 seconds into the second quarter at 8-7 and pushed the lead up with a 14-6 second quarter to lead 20-13 at halftime. Eagles went 8-10 from the free throw line in the first half to stay within single digits in the first half. Riley County pushed their lead to double figures in the second half as they led 31-21 after three quarters and went on to grab the 48-31 win. 

The Eagles with the loss fall to 0-6 on the season and now head into the Holiday break. Nate Buessing led Axtell on the night with eight points and earned Community National Bank "Player to Bank" honors on KMZA. Both Jonah Porting and Quinn Buessing each added seven points on the night. 

Riley County with the win moved to 1-4 on the year and was led by Cole Uphoff who scored 13 points, while TJ Fritz added 12 points. 

Axtell hits the court again after the calendar turns to 2017 as they will travel to Clifton-Clyde on January 6th.