The Heartland Christian Crusaders came tearing into Friday's match with five straight wins dating back to last season (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 12.8 points) and they left with even more momentum. They skirted past Western Plains 43-40.
Despite the loss, Western Plains saw an underclassman step up: Madelyn Kraus dropped a double-double on 25 points and ten rebounds. Those 25 points set a new season-high mark for her. The team also got some help courtesy of Jaelyn Spangler, who scored ten points.
Heartland Christian's win was their fourth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 1-0. As for Western Plains, they are on a six-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 1-6.
Heartland Christian will have some time to savor their victory since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on Triplains/Brewster at 6:00 p.m. on January 16th. As for Western Plains, they will head out on the road to face off against Cheylin at 6:00 p.m. on Friday.
