ANDALE, Kan. — The Andale basketball teams opened 2026 with an in-district showdown with Garden Plain on Friday.
The Garden Plain girls snapped a 3-game losing streak with a 46-39 victory over Andale. The Andale boys extended their winning streak to three with a 52-41 victory over the Owls.
In the boys game, Garden Plain jumped out to a 14-9 lead after the first quarter, before Andale used a 15-9 second quarter for a 24-23 lead at halftime. Garden Plain took a brief 2-point lead to start the third, but Andale used a 6-0 run to lead by 5. Andale led by as many as six in the third quarter and held a 3-point advantage, 34-31, heading to the fourth quarter, the closest the Owls got the rest of the game. Andale led by as many as 10 in the final quarter.
Caden Fowler led the way for Andale, scoring 15 of his team-high 22 points in the second half. Jack Horsch added 13, all coming in the first half. Cooper Eck led the way for Garden Plain with a game-high 23 points. Andale improved to 4-1 on the season, while Garden Plain dropped to 3-4.
In the girls game, Garden Plain jumped out to a 12-0 lead before Andale closed the first quarter with a 3-pointer by Brooke Grimes to cut the deficit in half, 12-6. Andale scored the first seven points of the second quarter to take a 13-12 lead. Both teams went back-and-forth with the Lady Owls leading 22-21 at halftime. A 6-0 Garden Plain run to start the second half extended its lead to 7, but the lead would evaporate with Andale tying the game at 32 heading into the fourth quarter. Garden Plain regained the lead once the fourth quarter started and never trailed the rest of the way, with Andale pulling within one on several occasions early in the quarter.
Grimes led the way for Andale (2-3) with a game-high 15 points while Abbi Winter added 11. Garden Plain (3-5) had three players in double-figures with Aubrey Haukap, Reese Stuhlsatz, and Lylah Zoglman each scoring 11.
Andale resumes AVCTL-IV play on Tuesday at El Dorado.
