Ellis Jr. High girls basketball team hosted the Russell Broncos on Nov. 22nd. The night proved to be a nail biter throughout. Ellis girls came out strong in the first quarter, leading the Broncos 12 to six. Russell gained some traction in the second quarter but Ellis went to the locker room at the half, ahead 18 to 16. The game remained tight throughout the second half. As the game narrowed down to the last couple of minutes, Russell pulled ahead by two and was sent to the line for two free-throws with nine seconds left to play. Russell lead 25 to 23. The first free-throw missed but the second went in bringing Russell’s lead to three, 26 to 23. Ellis got the ball down to their end and put up a shot but it didn’t fall. Russell beat Ellis 26 to 23.
Leading scorer for Ellis was Avery Boydston with seven points, followed by Payten Burd and Raegan Jiminez both with six, Leah Reed and Jocelyn Eck each had two points. Leading rebounder for Ellis was Gracelyn Hamel with eight boards, followed by Boydston with six. Eck had four rebounds, Reed had three, Taylor Kohl had two and Jiminez contributed one.
The varsity will get to have a rematch against Russell as they will play each other first round of the MCEL tournament on Dec. 2nd in Plainville.
In the J.V. contest, Ellis struggled throughout the game getting any shots to fall in. Russell was limited as well up until second half. Final score was Russell JV 10 to Ellis two.
Scorer for Ellis JV was Sienna Schmidt with two points. Leading rebounder was Jersee Fabrizius with four boards, followed by Schmidt, Kohl and Kia Mader each with three. Piper McClung and Tayler Schmidt each had one rebound.