The Abilene High School basketball teams were swept Saturday at home by Marysville.  The Lady Bulldogs put together their most impressive victory of the year in their 50-32 win over the Cowgirls.  It was just the second win on the season for the Marysville girls.  In the nightcap the Bulldogs jumped out to a big lead over the Cowboys and had to hold on for the win.

In the girl’s game, Marysville got a big afternoon out of 5’10” Senior, Sami Bartels.  Bartels missed four games earlier in the season which all resulted in losses for the Lady Bulldogs.  She scored a game-high 19 points in the victory over Abilene. 

Marysville led 14-7 at the end of the first quarter but used a 20-0 run, that bridged the first and second quarters, that blew the game open.  The Lady Bulldogs would go on to lead by as many as 26 points in the fourth quarter and go on to the 18 point victory. 

Abilene was led in scoring once again by Beth Holmes with 12 points.  The Cowgirls dropped to 3-4, 1-3 with the loss.  They have now lost three straight games.  They will play Thursday at 6 PM versus Salina South at South High School in the opening round of the Salina Invitational Tournament.  The Cowgirls are the #5 seed and South is #4.

The second game of the night featured the top teams in the NCKL.  Marysville for the second straight year raced out to a big lead in Abilene.  Last year they jumped ahead 18-6 at the end of the first quarter on their way to a 39-38 victory.  Saturday night they raced out to a 21-10 lead at the end of the opening quarter and lead by as many as 18 in the second quarter.

The Cowboys got back into the game in the third quarter.  They trailed 37-30 at halftime but Abilene outscored Marysville 19-6 in the third to cut deficit to 43-39 as they entered the fourth.  Travis Beetch helped Abilene get back into the game with 11 of his game-high 20 points in the third quarter.  The Cowboys were able to get to within two points twice in the final quarter but Marysville put the game away with free-throw shooting and timely baskets.  Marysville hit 5-6 free-throws in the final quarter.  The Cowboys struggled once again at the line as they connected on 10-23 free-throws on the night.

Abilene fell to 4-3, 3-1 with the loss and Marysville improved to 7-1, 4-1 with the victory.  Abilene will play Liberal Thursday at 4:30 PM at Salina Central High School.  The Cowboys are the #4 seed and Liberal is #5.