HOISINGTON, Kan. – The Smoky Valley basketball teams hit the road to start the 2026 portion of their schedule on Tuesday night, facing the Hoisington Cardinals. Hoisington, who had already played games in 2026, sweeping Russell at home last Friday, picked up wins in both contests against the Vikings. The Cardinal girls jumped out to an early lead and finished with a big win, while the Hoisington boys mounted two comebacks for a one-point win in the end.
Girls-Hoisington 61, Smoky Valley 30– Hoisington got off to a hot start and used an 11-0 run in the first quarter to take a 15-2 lead at one point. The Cardinals led 19-6 after one and extended their lead to 17 by halftime. Leading by 22 heading into the 4th quarter, they closed the game with a 13-4 final frame for the 31-point win. Hoisington got big quarters from a different player in each of the first three quarters. Kelsi Maier put up eight points in the first quarter on her way to a 12-point outing. Addi Hanzlick got hot in the second quarter, scoring nine of her career high 13 points. However, it was Marley Bittel that stole the show in the end. She had eight of her game-high 17 points in the third quarter, finishing 5-11 overall from three-point land on the night. Hoisington is now 5-1 on the season and their head coach Trina Lutters picked up her 99th career victory with the win. Kenzley Haxton led the Vikings with nine points, scoring seven of those in the second quarter. Smoky Valley is now 1-5 on the season.
SV – Haxton 9, Dudley 6, Whittaker 5, Ryan 4, Schrag 3, Brown 2, Patrick 1
Hoisington – Bittel 17, Hanzlick 13, Maier 12, Beck 6, Lutters 5, Aylward 4, Wilkens 4
Boys- Hoisington 39, Smoky Valley 38 – Smoky Valley led Hoisington most of the night, jumping out to a 13-3 lead after one quarter. Foul trouble in the second quarter for the Vikings was a big part in helping the Cardinals regroup, as they came all the way back to tie the game at 13 after a 10-0 run. Smoky Valley regrouped and held an 18-16 lead at halftime and they would make a 10-0 run of their own in the third quarter to take a 29-19 lead. Hoisington scored the final four points of the third to cut the lead to six. Each team’s defensive strategy was to limit the other team’s high scorer. It was effective, as Smoky Valley’s Kristian Ryan, who was averaging 25.4 ppg on the season, was held to just eight points on the night. On the flip side, it worked for three quarters for Smoky Valley against Mason Martin, who was averaging 21 ppg for Hoisington coming in. However, in the fourth quarter, Martin broke loose.
After making just one field goal through the first three quarters, Martin cashed in on three three-point baskets, none bigger than his final one. After the Cardinals took their first lead of the game at 36-35 with 5:15 remaining, Smoky Valley’s Atticus Pavlovich made a three to put the Vikings back up 38-36 with 4:48 remaining. Martin answered with his final three-pointer with 2:55 remaining to give the Cardinals a 39-38 advantage. Despite opportunities, neither team would score the rest of the way as a game-winning floater attempt from Braylon Olson fell just short for Smoky Valley. Martin finished with a game-high 16 points and was the only double figure scorer for the Cardinals as they moved to 5-2. Smoky Valley dropped to 3-3. They were led by Ty Heitschmidt with 10 points.
SV – Heitschmidt 10, Ryan 8, Pavlovich 7, Gengler 6, Anderson 3, Burgardt 2, Griffith 2
Hoisington – Martin 16, Mason 9, Pfannenstiel 8, Crawford 4, Ingram 2
