BOURBON — Bourbon High School’s girls basketball team played a trio of games on Dec. 8, Dec. 11 and Dec. 12 against Newburg, Kingston and Chamois, respectively. The Lady Warhawks hosted Newburg and Kingston in their first home games of the season before traveling to Chamois. Bourbon lost to Newburg but defeated Kingston and Chamois on back-to-back nights. Bourbon (3-3) then hosted Laquey on Dec. 15 which will be detailed in next week’s edition. The Lady Hawks will travel to Belle on Dec. 18 before competing in the Valley Park Round Robin Tournament beginning on Dec. 27 in a matchup against Valley Park. Each of last week’s games is detailed below.

Dec. 8 vs. Newburg

In their home opener against Newburg, Bourbon was in a close, hard-fought game for the first three quarters. The Lady Wolves seized the momentum of the game with one minute left in the third quarter when Mckenna Suschanke knocked down a three-pointer that turned a four-point lead to a seven-point lead for Newburg. Bourbon couldn’t get any closer as Newburg pulled away to earn a 47-34 victory.

Bourbon was plagued throughout the night by turnovers and a low-shooting percentage. The Lady Warhawks turned the ball over 18 times and shot 29% from the field. Free throw shooting woes for Bourbon also left plenty of points on the board as they shot 7-for-19 from the line.

The Lady Warhawks were led by their leading scorers, sophomores Kinzey Waldren and Kinzii Withorn. Waldron scored 10 points on two shots from deep and two buckets at the rim. Withorn finished the evening with 11 points on three free throws, a shot from downtown and two baskets in the paint. Savanna Vance and Bree Bouse each knocked down a three-pointer and finished with five and four points, respectively. Hayden Terry and Reese Bell each scored two points to round out the scoring for the Lady Warhawks.

Dec. 11 vs. Kingston

The Lady Warhawks came to play against the Lady Cougars in their Dec. 11 matchup. Bourbon led from tip-off and got out to a 11-5 start after the first quarter and led 26-14 at halftime. Bourbon’s defense was the catalyst for the victory as they gave up only seven points in the second half en route to a 43-21 victory. 

Bourbon was led by Kinzii Withorn, who scored all of her team-high 12 points in the first half. The only damper on the night for the Lady Hawks was that Withorn went down with an apparent lower body injury early in the third quarter and didn’t return. 

Freshman Savanna Vance continued her productive debut season and seems to be gaining confidence as the season progresses. Vance finished with 11 points on a shot from deep, a layup and six shots from the free-throw line. Kinzey Waldron scored nine points on a trio of treys. Reese Bell scored all six of her points in the fourth quarter on three baskets close to the rim. Senior point guard Kaitlyn King scored four points and played the role of a maestro, looking for her teammates more than her own shot and led the Lady Hawks in assists and steals. Ella Biles knocked down a free throw to finish with one point. 

The victory for Bourbon was their second of the season. The Lady Hawks had little time to celebrate and traveled to Chamois the next evening.

Dec. 12 vs. Chamois

The Lady Warhawks were able to withstand the loss of Withorn in the matchup against Chamois, and used a balanced attack to compensate for being without one of its leading scorers. Bourbon led from the jump and got out to a 9-0 lead after the first quarter. The Lady Warhawks found their offensive rhythm in the second quarter, scoring 18 points in the frame. Bourbon’s defense was ferocious in the first half and gave up just two points, leading their way to a 27-2 lead at halftime.

Chamois quadrupled their first-half scoring total in the third quarter, scoring eight points in the frame, but it was too little too late as Bourbon led 37-10 after three quarters en route to a 52-12 victory to give the Lady Hawks their third victory of the season.

Bourbon was led by King and Vance, who each scored 12 points. King looked for her own shot more with the loss of Withorn, and knocked down a pair of shots from deep, the day after she was in a pass-first mindset. Vance’s consistent scoring repertoire was on display as she scored five baskets and knocked down two free throws. Hayden Terry scored a season-high 11 points as an effective point scorer in the paint. Kinzey Waldron added seven points and Reese Bell scored six as a part of Bourbon’s balanced attack. Ella Biles and Bree Bouse each chipped in two points to complete the scoring for the Lady Hawks.