The fourth week of January begins and we are officially into the second half of the winter season for the Sterling Tigers.
Both basketball teams are looking to bounce back after tough losses to the Res. Christian Cougars on Saturday. Both teams will take on the Berthoud Spartans on Tuesday and then spend Thursday, Friday and Saturday as the lone Colorado invader for the Western Conference Tournament in Scottsbluff, NE.
For the boys team, they are currently 8-4, with a 3-1 Patriot League record. They start the week as the 16th team in the selection index, meaning if the season ended today, the Tigers would have a first round playoff game at home in Wally Post. Juniors Colin Linn and Ethan Thyne, along with sophomore Dayten DiOrio continue to have solid campaigns, as all three have averaged more than 10 points per game and have all taken their turns being the Tigers' leading scorer on a given night.
Despite a 3-game losing streak, the Sterling Girls sit just 1 spot out of a hosting position, 17th in the selection index to start the week. The Lady Tigers' offense has struggled against the top foes in the Patriot League in this stretch, but hope to get things back on track starting Tuesday night at Berthoud. The girls are currently 5-7, 1-3. Junior Tatym Dempcy continues to impress, nearly averaging a double-double with 11 points and 9.6 rebounds per game.
Sterling Wrestling begins the playoff push this week, with the Patriot League Championship being hosted on Friday and Saturday at Wellington. This past Saturday, the boys participated in the Platte Valley Dual Tournament, taking 5th place with a 4-1 record. The Tigers lost to Limon in the opening round before stringing wins against Northridge, Timnath, Florence and Res. Christian.
The Sterling girls sent a full team to Skyview for an individual tournament. Kiersten Brush took the 145 lbs. title going 2-0. Kaylie Green continued her impressive season with another tournament title at 235, defeating fellow Tiger Ayvin Palser in the finals.