The Ell-Saline Cardinal basketball squads were swept in a pair of varsity contests Tuesday evening at Ellinwood High School.

GIRLS:  Ellinwood 46, Ell-Saline 31

In the girls’ matchup, Ell-Saline (0-5) jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead, but a 13-0 run from the Eagles helped Ellinwood (4-1) out to a 16-8 lead after the first quarter.  While the Cardinal defense stiffened in the second quarter, the Ell-Saline offense stalled, putting only four points on the scoreboard, extending the Ellinwood advantage to 26-12 at halftime.

Throughout the second half, the Cardinals kept up with the Eagles, but were unable to overcome the 14-point halftime deficit.

A key factor in the Ellinwood win was the performance of junior Mya Maxwell, who poured in 23 points to lead all scorers.  Sophomore Mary Dimitt added nine points in the Eagle victory.

The Cardinals were paced by senior Erin Lange and sophomore Raleigh Kramer, who both finished with nine points.  Junior Brynna Rowley added seven points off the bench in the loss.

SCORE BY QUARTERS:

Ell-Saline    8    4    9    10  –  31

Ellinwood  16   10  10   10  –  46

BOYS:  Ellinwood 74, Ell-Saline 22

In the nightcap, Ellinwood (4-1) ended any suspense early on, forcing 11 Cardinal turnovers in the first quarter, leading to numerous transition opportunities which helped the Eagles soar out to a 21-5 lead after the first eight minutes.  Ell-Saline (0-5) tallied just two points in the second quarter, falling behind 43-7 at the half.

The Eagles added 25 points in the third quarter to force a running-clock fourth quarter.

Ellinwood was led by a pair of talented freshmen, with Britton Dutton putting up a 24-point performance to claim game-high scoring honors, while Tyler Stuhlsatz added 17 points.  Senior David Hammeke also scored 17 points in the Ellinwood victory.

Ell-Saline received a ten-point effort from sophomore Tagean Bradley in the loss.

SCORE BY QUARTERS:

Ell-Saline    5    2    8    7  –  22

Ellinwood  21  22  25   6  –  74