Winter weather causes schools to reschedule games, toughens end of season

The winter weather not only made it tough to get around last weekend – it also toughened up schedules for our local basketball teams.

The heavy snow and ice that fell this weekend made traveling conditions difficult and most of the schools in the area had to find a time to replay the games that would have taken place on Saturday. For most teams that game will be replayed in the second week of February, forcing the players to compete in three or four games within a five-day span.

For Glasgow High School, this past weekend's trip to Sidney has been rescheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 9, when they were originally scheduled to hold Senior Night festivities against Poplar. The game against the Indians, and all of the festivities, have been moved to Monday, Feb. 8, allowing the Scotties to make up their game with Sidney a day later.

For the Scotties the switch means they will have to play four games in a five-day span, starting with games against Wolf Point and Plentywood at home on Friday and Saturday then playing the rescheduled slates on Monday and Tuesday.

“I guess its a little preparation for tournament time,” said head boy's basketball coach Norm Braaten.

The boys have beaten Poplar and Plentywood earlier this season, with both teams residing near the bottom of the conference standings. The tough part will be the games against Wolf Point and Sidney, two physical teams that gave the Scotties troubles earlier this year. The boys edged Sidney, 51-48 in December and faded late in Wolf Point, losing in overtime, 54-52.

For the girls the weekend could be crucial for seeding in the district tournament. Wolf Point, Harlem and Glasgow are all vying for the few top spots in conference behind Malta. That weekend the Scotties will need to show up against the tall and physical Wolves and Plentywood Lady Cats to put themselves in a good place before heading to Malta for the last game of the regular season. The Scotties were severely outrebounded in a 56-41 loss in Wolf Point and picked up a big win in Plentywood, 64-55. With both games at home this time, the Scotties will be looking to pick up some places in the standings to be in a good position for the District 2B playoffs in three weeks.

But what may be tough for Glasgow could be killer for the Class C boys. Hinsdale and Lustre Christian rescheduled their game for Feb. 8. The Scotties may be inconvenienced with a load of games a week before their tournament but the Raiders and Lions will be tipping off just two days before the start of districts.

The Boys' District 3C Tournament, which is being played in Glasgow this season, starts on Feb. 10 and runs for four days. The Raiders will travel to Lustre for a rematch of the epic game from last week when Hinsdale scored in the last seconds to win 41-40.

The Class C girls will have a little more reprieve, not starting districts until Feb. 18 in Malta.

Opheim has it the worst, having rescheduled two games to that weekend, which was already busy for them. The Vikings play on Thursday, Feb. 4 at Scobey, then play home games against Saco and Hinsdale on Friday and Saturday. Now, they also have to travel to Dodson on Monday and to Frazer on Tuesday, for a grand total of five games in six days. Luckily, they will have some time to rest before  the playoffs begin.

Nashua is the only school that has avoided the mess. Their girls played a makeup game on Tuesday and the boys will play on Feb. 2.