The Ell-Saline Cardinals kicked off the Tri-County Classic on Tuesday evening in Brookville, dropping a pair of contests to the visiting Halstead Dragons.

GIRLS:  Halstead 70, Ell-Saline 12

Halstead (2-0) came in ranked 6th in Class 3A in the KBCA Rankings, and it didn’t take long for the Dragons to flex their muscles, forcing 18 first half turnovers while racing out to a 40-3 halftime lead.  Ell-Saline (0-2) couldn’t find an answer in the second half, as Halstead outscored the Cardinals 23-2 in the third quarter to take a 63-5 lead, forcing a running clock fourth quarter.

Sensational 6’0″ junior Karenna Gerber led all scorers with 25 points for Halstead, while junior Josie Engel added 15 points in the win.

Ell-Saline was led by sophomore Raleigh Kramer, who scored five of the 12 Cardinal points in the loss.

SCORE BY QUARTERS:

Halstead    23   17   23   7  –  70

Ell-Saline    3     0     2   7  –  12

BOYS:  Halstead 66, Ell-Saline 23

In the nightcap, Ell-Saline (0-2) jumped out to an early 7-2 lead, but it was all Halstead (1-1) from that point on, as the Dragons closed out the half on a 45-11 run to lead 47-18 at the brake.  The Dragons quickly snuffed out any hopes of a Cardinal comeback, outscoring Ell-Saline 15-3 in the third quarter to grab a 62-21 lead, forcing a running clock throughout the final quarter.

The Dragons were paced by a pair of junior guards as Cameron Kohr and Lakin Farmer finished with 20 and 18 points, respectively.

Ell-Saline was led by nine points from junior guard T.J. Morrical, while junior post Carter Underwood added seven points in the loss.

SCORE BY QUARTERS:

Halstead    19   28   15   4  –  66

Ell-Saline   11     7     3   2  –  23