By Brinley McNeill
On Friday, January 9th, 2026, Silver Lake and Blue Hill fought for a win on the basketball court. Silver Lake came out victorious with a final score of 52 to 30. This game kept both teams very engaged and had them giving their all. On top of the win, this game was very memorable because senior Sophie Schmidt broke a school record for the number of steals. The previous record of 247 was set by Bailey Morris and Amanda Ehrman. Schmidt tallied her 248th steal against Blue Hill to claim that record.
In the beginning of the game, Silver Lake shot up the score, ending the first quarter with 20 points and holding Blue Hill to just 6. Yet, as the game went on, Blue Hill fought hard to pull ahead, but Silver Lake was able to keep its lead and win the game. The Mustangs added 14 points in the second quarter, while Blue Hill only put up 3, which left the Mustangs with a 34-9 lead going into halftime. Blue Hill fought in the second half, but they couldn’t overcome the deficit. The Bobcats added 21 points, and the Mustangs added 18.
As coach Sinsel said, “Our defense is what stood out to me as our biggest asset, especially in the first half. Also, we were working the ball really well offensively. We were knocking down good shots and finding the players who had the hot hand that night.” Sophomore Libby Soucek was the high scorer of the game with 20 points, followed closely by Schmidt with 16. Soucek also tied the school record for most 3-pointers in a game with six. She tied Kerigan Karr and Stephanie Shaw, who also hold the record. Schmidt also had 7 rebounds and 7 assists during this game. As a team, they totalled 39 rebounds to Blue Hill’s 24. MaKenna Karr grabbed 7 boards, with 5 from the offensive end. Soucek grabbed 6 herself.
The next night, Silver Lake travelled to Grand Island Lutheran for their third game of the week. Silver Lake came out victorious with a final score of 53 to 28. The Mustang press allowed them to get off to a lead right away, which gave them a 10-2 lead at the end of the first quarter. The trio of Kamille Karr, MaKenna Karr, and Libby Soucek got hot in the 2nd quarter, which gave the Mustangs a 26-10 lead going into the half. Each team added 9 points in the third quarter, and then Silver Lake finally found success offensively in the fourth quarter to add 18 points to the Lightning’s 9.
This whole game, the coaches were very confident in their girls. As coach Bonifas said, “We controlled the pace of the game from the beginning. Our defense was sharp, both in the press and in half-court, and we were able to create a lot of turnovers and get points in transition.” Both Coaches knew they had the upper hand all game and were confident in their plays.
Makenna Karr was the highest scoring player of the game with 21 points, followed by Schmidt with 11 and Soucek with 10. Schmidt ended the game with 7 rebounds and 9 assists, and Makenna Karr had 8 rebounds. The victories boosted the team’s record to 9-1.