VERDIGRE — Elgin Public-Pope John, if they keep this pace up, could be one of the highest scoring girls basketball teams in the state this year.
Playing their season opener Friday night, the Wolfpack defeated Niobrara/Verdigre 75 to 20.
The 55-point margin of victory was one of the largest in recent memory.
Coach Randy Eisenhauer’s team was a scoring machine at one end of the court and solid on defense at the other end of the court.
The Wolfpack jumped out to a 23 to seven lead in the first quarter, then grew the margin to 46 to 16 by halftime.
In the second half, Elgin Public-Pope John limited the Cougars to just two two-point field goals over the final 16 minutes of the game.
Senior Jenna Parks led the way with 16 points. She was one of 10 Wolfpack players to score in the game for EPPJ. Other players to score in double figures were junior Jordan Mescher and freshman Allyson Wemhoff with 13.
The Wolfpack connected on 31 of 55 field goal attempts and were six of 11 from the free throw line.
A key statistic in the game was turnovers as the Cougars had 31 compared to just 10 for the Wolfpack.
Wolfpack 75, Cougars 20
EPPJ…………23 23 20 9 — 75
N/V…………… 7 9 2 2 — 20
Wolfpack — Liz Selting 3-8 0-0 6, Jenna Parks 7-10 0-0 16, Anna Heilhecker 1-2 0-0 2, Amy Nelson 2-3 0-0 4, Lydia Behnk 1-1 0-0 2, Calli Krebs 2-3 1-4 5, Paige Meis 0-0 0-0 0, Jordan Mescher 5-8 0-2 12, Jill Schindler 4-5 0-0 8, Baylee Wemhoff 3-7 0-0 8, Ally Wemhoff 4-9 5-5 13, Katie Polk 0-0 0-0 0. Team totals: 31-55 6-11 75. Cougars’ team totals: 6-24 7-16 20.
Team statistics — Three-point shots – Wolfpack 6-18 (Jenna Parks 2, Jordan Mescher 2, Baylee Wemhoff 2), Cougars 1-8. Rebounds – Wolfpack 24 (Jordan Mescher 6, Jenna Parks 5), Cougars 46. Assists – Wolfpack 21 (Jenna Parks 6), Cougars 2. Steals – Wolfpack 22 (Jordan Mescher 6), Cougars 4. Turnovers – Wolfpack 10, Cougars 31.
