Alva Review-Courier -

NEWKIRK – Both the Alva High School Ladybugs and Goldbugs started their season on a high note with back-to-back wins on the road as they faced off with the Newkirk Lady Tigers on Tuesday evening.

Ladybugs At Newkirk

Though the Ladybugs were able to pull off the win, it was a tough battle as Alva committed plenty of turnovers both at tip-off and down the stretch.

The tough start gave the Lady Tigers the first two points of the night off two foul shots, but Alva’s Ally Riley answered right back with an open three off a pass from Whitney Randal to give the Ladybugs their first lead, 3-2.

A made foul shot followed by a left wing three from Randall gave Alva a five-point lead over the Lady Tigers with less than four minutes left in the first quarter.

Alva maintained that lead till the final two minutes of the quarter when as the Lady Tigers made back-to-back threes to steal the lead going into second quarter with the score at 10-11.

Fortunately, that was the final time Newkirk held the lead as the Ladybugs opened up the second quarter with a baseline jumper from Camryn Wren followed by a banked shot from Randall.

Despite the Ladybugs able to find a rhythm, and committing less turnovers, the Lady Tigers stayed within striking distance trailing by five points going into the second-half 22-17.

The Ladybugs came out swinging in the third, picking up an eight-point lead to lead 25-17, but costly turnovers brought Newkirk within one to close out the third with the score at 28-27.

Fortunately, Alva was able to battle back, getting as much as a 14-point lead to get the 43-32 win over Newkirk.

Stats

The Alva Ladybugs were led by Randall with 17 points, three assists and two rebounds with Riley following close with 12 to go with her seven rebounds and three assists. Other contributors were Lexie Shafer with six points, Jordan Shiever with four, Wren with two and Tatum Rouse with two. Cathy Mapes had five rebounds and four assists. The Ladybugs out rebounded the Lady Tigers 22-10 allowing no second-chance points. Unfortunately, Alva’s biggest issue were turnovers as they ended the night with 20 total to 11 assists.

Up next, the Ladybugs will have a long stay at home as they host Blackwell on Friday starting at 6:30 p.m., followed by Tonkawa on Saturday with a tip-off at 4:30 p.m.

Goldbugs At Newkirk

The Alva Goldbugs put a dominating performance to tip off their season, almost entirely shutting down the Tigers in the first quarter. Brooks Hadwiger set the tone early with a three-pointer, as Grant Ritter controlled the lane to follow up with a putback for an early 5-0 lead. That quickly turned into a 19-0 run for the Goldbugs as they built a solid lead to close out the first quarter with the score at 22-4.

The Goldbugs continued to hold nothing back, picking up the pace to get as much as a 41-point lead to end the first half with the score at 50-9, holding the Tigers to single digits going into halftime.

Though the Tigers finally found their rhythm in the second half, Alva’s lead was too much to overcome as they cruised to a 77-27 victory over Newkirk to open their season.

Stats

The Goldbugs were led by Ritter with 20 points to go with nine rebounds followed by Ethan Flynt with 11 total for the night. Hadwiger and Lane Scarbrough each put up nine points to help lead the way for the Goldbugs. Ethan Harzman had six assists leading in the column for the Goldbugs.

The Goldbugs will return home for the next four games as they start hosting the Blackwell Maroons on Friday with tip-off scheduled for 8 p.m. They’ll follow up with Tonkawa on Saturday following the Ladybugs game.