The Troy girls won on senior night and the Axtell boys stole one away with both teams getting wins via decisive fourth quarters. The Troy girls team won by a final score of 43-32, and the Axtell boys team won by a final score of 61-56.

Both teams struggled to get points in the first quarter of the girls game, but Troy was still able to make a pair of threes by the end. The Trojans got steals in their press, but they were unable to convert in transition. They would hold on to an 8-7 lead after the first quarter.

Axtell got their offense going a bit early in the second quarter and got the lead for a brief while. Natalee Strathman made four free throws in the quarter, and Kaylee Sandmann made a pair of two-point field goals. They had a 15-12 lead inside the final 30 seconds, but the Trojans scored five points quickly to take a 17-15 at halftime, including a three-point buzzer-beater by Harper Whetstine, who had five points at the break.

Sandmann and Strathman continued to carry the Eagles in the third quarter. They helped Axtell have their first lead at the end of a quarter as they led going into the fourth quarter 26-24.

That lead wouldn’t last, though, as Troy would outscore Axtell 19-6 in the fourth quarter, including scoring the quarter’s first ten points. Whetstine got hot and scored ten points in the final frame. She finished with 15 points and is the Farmers State Bank Player of the Game. Allie Franken also finished with ten for the Trojans. Sandmann led the Eagles with 11 points.

Brogan Morris started the game for Troy after having to miss the season due to a knee injury. He won the tip and Axtell gave him an open layup to start the game. In return, Troy gave Grady Buessing an open layup. It was a wonderful display of sportsmanship from both sides to start the game.

Once that ended, Troy jumped on Axtell early. Christian Etherton made a couple of threes, and Jack Hartman scored five quick points to give Troy a 16-9 lead after the first quarter.

Hartman picked up his third foul early in the second quarter, and the team’s offensive productivity slowed. Axtell started getting into a rhythm and the Eagles got the deficit down to two possessions at halftime with the Trojans leading 29-24.

Seth Judd came up big for Troy in the third quarter with two threes. Both teams traded haymakers with Troy growing the lead to as large as 11 after Axtell cut it to four. Going into the fourth quarter, Troy had a 46-37 lead.

Axtell went on a 21-3 run in the first 3:44 of the fourth quarter to take a 58-49 lead. Eli Broxterman and Logan Sandmann each scored eight fourth-quarter points. Wyatt Detweiler added six more as well as they would outscore Troy in the fourth quarter 24-10.

Broxterman is your Player of the Game as he finished with a team-high 13 points. Sandmann had 12 points, and Schmelzle had 10 points. Troy was led by Etherton with 14 points, Henry Geiger had 11 points, and Judd had 10.