MERNA- The Pirates traveled to Coyote country Tuesday night, in hopes to get an easy win on the road.
Win on the road, they did.
The Pirates were biting their nails for a better part of three quarters, but rallied the troops in the final frame to pull away, defeating A-M 53-42.
Elwood started out the game good, pulling away and taking a 15-9 lead after the first quarter.
The Lady Pirates however struggled to get buckets to fall right before the half, as A-M made a nice comeback and took a one-point lead, 23-22, going into the half. The Coyotes were looking to end the drought and get their first win of the season under their belts in big fashion.
Not so fast.
Elwood came out the second half on a mission, taking the lead back, leading by one at the end of the third period 35-34.
At that point, the game looked as if it would come down to the final few minutes. Head coach Tom Ridenour didn’t think so.
The ladies came out on a scoring rally, hitting 18 points and locking down the Coyotes to just eight, pulling away late in the game to hang on for the victory.
Four out of the five Elwood starters had stellar nights, as they scored in double figures. Senior Bailey Mahlberg surprisingly enough was not the leading scorer on the evening, as it was Taylor Summer’s night, scoring 15 points. Bailey’s sister Rachel scored 13 points, then Bailey with 11 points and Molly Weissert with four points.
For A-M, Kayla Halouska led the team with 12 points. Julia Downey contributed with eight points for the Coyotes.
The win for Elwood, brings the closer to .500 on the season, improving to 4-5 on the season.  The Coyotes continue to struggle on the year, dropping their eleventh-straight game, falling to 0-11 on the year.
The boys’ game was just as exciting as the first game, as the Elwood boys’ looked to snap their funk against a decent A-M team.
Elwood trailed for much of the game, but stuck with it to pull ahead late and take the game 53-46.
The shooting which has been the Pirates’ weak point all season long hurt them in the first half, as they saw themselves down early 13-9 after one. The shooting improved in the second, but Elwood still couldn’t capture the lead as A-M kept the lead, but barely, at the half 24-23.
The second half was much of the same. Elwood and the Coyotes kept trading shots back and forth, with Elwood finally taking a lead in the third quarter at 40-36. Elwood wouldn’t relinquish the lead as they managed to outscore Anselmo-Merna 13-11 to escape with the win.
Jonathan Weber and Brandt Banzhaf  scored 10 points each, but it was Tanner Nelson who kept the Pirates’ offense in check, scoring 16 points, a game-high. Braeden Banzhaf contributed with nine points on the night, with Jesse Roberts having one of his lower shooting nights, scoring eight points.
For Elwood, the win brings them to 6-3 on the season, while the Coyotes drop to 6-5. The Pirates traveled to Arapahoe on Friday, then take on rival Loomis on Saturday.

• Elwood Boys Basketball
• Elwood Girls Basketball
• Elwood Pirates
• Elwood Wrestling

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