It was a doubleheader that ended up being both memorable and historic on all fronts Monday, Feb. 17 as Glasgow and Slater squared off and divided a pair of Central Activities Conference basketball games that were heard on KMMO-FM. Capping the evening was the frantic comeback made by the host Wildcats as they clinched a league championship outright by rallying past the Yellowjackets, 56-53.
It was Slater’s first CAC crown on the boys’ side of the ledger since 2020 and just the second for the Wildcats as part of any conference in the past 35 years. Slater was a member of the Lewis and Clark circuit when they claimed a title in that league way back in 1990.
Earlier, the girls’ game provided some history of its own for the Glasgow fans that were in attendance as the Yellowjackets pounded Slater to the tune of 66-26. Here, Glasgow junior standout Halle Fuemmeler went over 1,500 points for her career very early in Monday’s proceedings. Coming in against the Wildcats, she needed only nine points to reach her milestone and was able to accomplish that feat during the first half.
Another Close Wildcat Win
Winning close games is something the Wildcat boys have done this winter. They ended up beating Glasgow all four times they met this season. One of those victories was by eight points while the other three were by three point margins. Overall, seven of Slater’s wins this year have come by three points or less and a total of 18 points combined in those contests.
For a quarter and a half, Glasgow played as well as you possibly expect, leading 18-12 after the first period and then widening that margin to 26-12 midway through the second stanza. At that point, the Yellowjackets hit a wall offensively when their shooting touch started to leave them on a consistent basis. Slater closed out the first half with a 13-2 run as they sliced the margin to 28-25 at intermission. From there, the contest was close until the final horn with Glasgow leading 46-45 heading into the final frame. The Yellowjackets failed to score the first five and a half minutes of the fourth quarter. During that span, Slater tallied six straight points to go on top, 51-46 with the Wildcats never trailing again. Glasgow did have a couple of chances in the last minute to tie the game or take the lead only to come up empty both times.
Nixon Sanders scored 16 points to lead Slater while Brandon Terrill chipped in with 14. For the Wildcats, it was their 16th win in their last 17 outings as they improved to 9-0 in the CAC and 18-4 overall with a trip to Pilot Grove coming up Thursday night. Glasgow watched Jackson Meyer knock down three long-distance bombs and score 21 points before he fouled out with five minutes left. Tacking on four threes as part of a 19-point performance was Bronson Foster with the Yellowjackets dropping to 6-3 in the league and 16-8 for the season before they travel to New Franklin on Thursday.
Too Many Slater Turnovers
In the girls’ matchup, Slater shot well early and was able to stay close to the Yellowjackets for about seven minutes. Then a flurry of Wildcat turnovers took its toll as Glasgow scored points in bunches. The visitors led 19-13 after one quarter and then held Slater to only two points in the second period as their margin grew to 36-15 at the break. Glasgow was ahead by 34, 57-23 entering the final eight minutes which were played with the turbo-clock in effect as the visitors went on to win easily, 66-26.
As part of her milestone evening, Halle Fuemmeler scored 24 points for her side while teammate Aly Prentzler added a career-high 22 along the way. The Yellowjackets improved to 8-1 in the conference and 17-7 overall thanks to the victory. For Slater, it was their seventh loss in a row as they fell to 1-8 in league play and 3-18 on the year. Madison Prysock scored 10 points to lead the home team.