RHS Splits with Ellis on Senior Night

Girls: Ellis 47, Russell 21
Boys: Russell 60, Ellis 32

Emily Eck scored 12 points and Kylie Pfeifer added 10 points as the Ellis Lady Railers defeated Russell 47-21 in Mid-Continent League action Tuesday evening at Amos Morris Gymnasium in the regular season finale for both teams.

Ellis led 9-0 after the first quarter and then outscored the Lady Broncos 20-9 in the second period to pad their lead to 29-7 at intermission.  The Lady Railers held a 45-15 advantage after three quarters and the final quarter was played with a running clock.

Harlee Donovan paced Russell (2-18, 1-10 MCL) with nine points.  

Ellis (14-7, 7-4 MCL) outrebounded the Lady Broncos 22-16 including 11-7 on the offensive glass.  The two teams combined for 48 turnovers.

In the Boys contest, Jackson Cross led four Russell players in double figures with 16 points as the Broncos celebrated Senior Night with a 60-32 drubbing of Ellis.

The first half was sloppy for both teams but Russell managed a 12-4 advantage after the opening eight minutes.  Turnovers slowed the game down in the second quarter but the Broncos maintained a 23-13 lead at the half.  Russell then blew the game wide open, outscoring Ellis 22-9 in the third stanza to lead 45-22 and cruised from there to its 13th win of the season, the most for the storied Boys program at Russell High since a 15-win campaign during the 1990-91 season.

Joining Cross in double figures for the Broncos were Jordayn Buhrle and David Pummell with 12 points apiece and Brayden Strobel contributed 11 points off the bench.  Ellis (5-15, 3-8 MCL) was led by seven points apiece from Toby Honas and Gavyn Wildeman.

Russell (13-8, 7-4 MCL)  dominated the Railers on the glass, outrebounding Ellis 37-14 and 13-5 with offensive boards.

With the regular season now complete, the two Russell teams now turn their attention to Sub-State.  The Lady Broncos, the #8 seed will travel to top seed Phillipsburg for a first round game on Monday, February 27.  The #4 seed Broncos will host a first round contest for the second year in a row when they take on #5 seed Ellsworth at Amos Morris Gymnasium on Tuesday, February 28.  Tip-off times are to be announced.

Russell is serving as host for one of the Class 3A Sub-State Tournaments and the semifinal and championship games for both the Girls and Boys sides will be contested at Amos Morris Gymnasium March 2-4.