Basketball Recap: Smith Center Piles Up the Points Against Hill City

Redmen

Margin (Wins)

01/28/25 vs Hill City	29
01/21/25 @ Ellis	3
01/14/25 vs Russell	8
12/12/24 vs St. John's/Tipton Catholic	2
12/06/24 vs Plainville	42

Smith Center posted their biggest win since December 6, 2024 on Tuesday. They blew past the Hill City Ringnecks 45-16. The Redmen pushed the score to 37-13 by the end of the third, a deficit the Ringnecks had little chance of recovering from.

Smith Center found their leader in sophomore Kayln Ifland, who went 7 for 11 en route to 16 points and three steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Leah Mckelvey, who posted seven points in addition to six rebounds and five steals.

Smith Center was working as a unit and finished the game with 11 assists. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their assist total in three consecutive contests.

Despite the loss, Hill City had strong showings from Rylie Minium, who went 6 of 15 on her way to 15 points and seven boards, and Allie Keith, who had no points. That was a full 93.8% of Hill City's points, marking the seventh time in a row she's put up more than a third of the team's points. Mary Anne Christian also deserves some recognition as she scored her first point of the season.

Smith Center's victory bumped their record up to 5-7. As for Hill City, they are on an 18-game losing streak (dating back to last season) that has dropped them down to 0-11.

Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Smith Center will take on Phillipsburg at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. As for Hill City, they will square off against Oakley at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Oakley will roll in looking for their tenth straight win, something Hill City surely won't give up without a fight.