By Jayden Mies
Freelance contributor
Special to the Tribune
As the 2024-25 basketball season progresses, the Pratt High Girls’ team has begun to catch fire as of late. Most recently, they faced off against the Nickerson Panthers twice, as well as the Haven Wildcats, and the Lady Greenbacks prevailed in all three contests.
First, the team had its first matchup with Nickerson on Friday, January 31, when the Panthers came to Pratt. This was also Pratt’s 2025 winter homecoming game.
The Lady Greenbacks came firing out of the gate, jumping out to a 10-0 lead with help from threes by Hope Hughes and Kate Jackson. From there, this lead grew drastically with Pratt putting up more than 40 points in the first half while holding Nickerson to below 20. Pratt widened this gap even more in the second half, and they won by a final score of 74-27.
Several offensive and defensive stats were worth noting for the Lady Greenbacks. First, they outrebounded the Panthers 40-27, which limited Nickerson’s second chance points and allowed Pratt to capitalize on their own. Next, they shared the ball very well with 19 assists, and
they had an incredible 18 steals and 2 blocks. From the field, they shot 41%, as well as 32% and 50% from three and the free throw line respectively.
With this built-up momentum, Pratt looked to their next contest, which was a battle on the road against a tough Haven Wildcats team. This was on Tuesday, February 4, and it was a must-win game for Pratt to climb in the CKL standings.
This was a low-scoring affair all night long, and both teams were determined to win. Pratt was up by two points with less than 10 seconds of play left in the game. The Wildcats drove down to attempt to tie or take the lead, but Hughes swiped a bounce pass, and Haven was forced to foul. Hughes made the first free throw but missed the second. However, Quinn Thibault hauled in the offensive rebound and held the ball until time expired. Pratt won by a final score of 38-35.
This was a huge win for Pratt, and it boosted their momentum even more. Their next game would be a trip back to Nickerson to play the Panthers again. This was on Friday, February 7.
Similar to their first meeting, Pratt was able to jump out to a sizeable lead to begin the game. At halftime, the Lady Greenbacks held a 24-11 lead. They were able to increase this margin to almost 30 by the end of the third quarter, and they didn’t look back from there. Pratt won by a final score of 51-22.
With this huge three-game winning streak, the Lady Greenbacks will look to carry their momentum into their next contest. This will be a battle of two of the top teams in the CKL, as Pratt will face off against the undefeated Hesston Swathers at home on Tuesday, February 11. Pratt will hope to keep their undefeated home record alive against the team to beat in 3A.
