Bulldog Energy Pushes Past Oak Park

The Bulldog Girls Basketball team harnessed an electricity carried over from Tuesday’s win against Excelsior Springs. From the tip-off to the final buzzer in Thursday’s game against the Oak Park Oakies, the Bulldogs used that energy to propel them to the win 50-45.

Brooke Paalhar led the Bulldogs in scoring with 13 points against Oak Park

“It’s been energy for the last several weeks, and that’s what we’re keying on,” said Coach Troy Resler in a postgame interview. “It just felt electric, and we got those good looks and its so exciting when someone is selfless and gives up a good pass to a teammate.”

The Class 5 Bulldogs came out ready to battle against the Class 6 Oakies. Kearney was able to sneak past Oak Park in the first quarter with buckets by Alyssa Quick, Brooke Paalhar and Gracie Bomar, giving them an 11-7 lead. It became a tightly contested game as the Oakies turned up the heat in the second quarter. Kearney kept the lead by one possession at the end of the half, 21-19.

Ryleigh Van Emmerick shoots beyond the arc for 3

The Bulldogs came into the second half with even more energy as Oak Park took the lead midway through the third quarter. Oak Park and Kearney would exchange the lead throughout the rest of the game. Late in the fourth quarter Brooke Paalhar and Kayla Resler gave the Bulldogs a boost with 3, 3-point field goals in a row.

Brooke Paalhar was the scoring leader for the Bulldogs with 13 points, followed closely by Alyssa Quick with 12 points. Senior Gracie Bomar came out with 8 points, Kayla Resler had 5 points, Ryleigh Van Emmerick had 4, and Addie Taylor earned 3 points.

The next game for the Bulldog Girls is Monday, February 12 at Winnetonka. This game and all game replays of boys and girls home games can be heard on the 102.7FM podcast page at 1027kearneyMO.com/podcasts.

KPGZ Sports - Brian Watts contributed to this story