The Wayne Blue Devils fought the good fight in their overtime match against the Ponca Indians on Saturday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Indians by a score of 54-51. Wayne has struggled against Ponca recently, as their match on Saturday was their fifth consecutive lost matchup.
Despite the loss, Wayne still got an impressive performance from Haley Kramer, who scored 15 points along with five rebounds and three steals. Another player making a difference was Frantzdie Barner, who scored 13 points along with four steals.
Even though they lost, Wayne were working as a unit and finished the game with 14 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Ponca only posted seven assists.
Among those leading the charge was Emerson Ehlers, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 15 rebounds. Aix Hughes was another key contributor, scoring 15 points along with nine rebounds and four steals.
Wayne's loss dropped their record down to 0-2. As for Ponca, they pushed their record up to 1-1 with that win, which was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Wayne will take on Wakefield at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in Nebraska (Wakefield is ranked 191st, while Wayne is ranked 172nd). As for Ponca, they will look to defend their home court on Thursday against Osmond/Randolph at 6:00 p.m. Hopefully Osmond/Randolph focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 29 on Thursday.
