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Diane Stamm | Johnson Publications

Senior Dalton Harchelroad played in all 26 games for Wauneta-Palisade and was third on the team in steals.

Trip to state tournament caps 20-6 Bronco basketball season

The jump up to Class D1 this basketball season didn’t hinder the Wauneta-Palisade boys’ basketball team. The Broncos ended a successful 2018-2019 season with a 20-6 record and trip to Lincoln.
    WP wrapped up 2018 with a 6-2 record, after an 11-point loss to C1 Chase County and 15-point loss to Dundy County-Stratton.
    Duncan Rector powered WP into the new year with games of 28, 29, 29 and 30 points, as part of a seven-game streak where he scored over 20 points per game.
    As box-and-one type defenses that keyed on Rector became more prevalent, the Broncos slowly found their footing as the team’s strategy changed.
    WP won four games in January before a loss to Paxton two days before the RPAC tournament. The tournament got off to a promising start with wins over Hitchcock County and DCS, but sputtered at the end with losses to Paxton and Cambridge.
    The loss in the RPAC consolation game sparked a change in the Broncos.
    “Our big strategy change for the season came about because we struggled shooting the ball from everywhere with the exception of Duncan,” WP Head Coach Dave Kuhlen said. “We had to score from our defense to try to be an elite team, so we went to a really aggressive defense and I think the move really worked. Teams really had to have great guard play against us, otherwise we would score in bunches.”
    WP closed out the season with eight straight wins.
    With a new setup to districts, WP knew it needed to win its way to state. It took three wins over DCS in 10 days, but the Broncos got the job done.
    Once in Lincoln, however, Paxton stood in WP’s way once more. The Broncos were unable to get past their RPAC foe in the first round.

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Wauneta NE 69045

 

Trip to state tournament caps 20-6 Bronco basketball season | Wauneta Breeze

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