Ipswich swept a girls/boys non-conference high school doubleheader on Saturday, Dec. 18 vs. Webster in the Tiger Den. The Tiger girls indeed rallied for 50-43 win, after trailing 14-2 at the first break. And the boys added a slightly easier 61-53 win in the nightcap confrontation.

Katie Bierman would obtain Ipswich's lone basket of the opening quarter, but she certainly didn't stop there. She would finish with a game-high 28 points, plus five of Ipswich's 15 assists and eight of the Tigers' 14 steals.

Bierman would open the second quarter with a basket and a pair of free throws to cut into the Tigers' deficit and would then finish with five more first-half points as Ipswich drew even with its visitors 19-19 at intermission. That IHS comeback was punctuated by a Quincy Olivier buzz-beater and she would add Ipswich's opening basket during the third quarter for her team's initial lead. Ipswich then grabbed a 36-27 lead with a quarter to play, capped by a pair of Ashlyn Weig free throws. And Ipswich secured its win with a 14-point final quarter, even though the Bearcats would score 16 points.

Ipswich's next leading scorers that day would be Weig and Gabby Wald with five points apiece, while Olivier and Kaylin Onken would each score four points, followed by Karlie Gohl with three points and Baylee Kulesa with a free throw.

Webster was limited to seven scorers, led by Elliot Steiner and Erin Case with nine points each and Jaiden Bauer was held to eight points by the Tigers' gimmick defense.

Ipswich included two treys by Bierman in its 16 total floor shots and added a 16-25 effort at the free throw line. Webster responded with 15 baskets that featured four treys and was 9-18 in free throw attempts.

Ipswich claimed 42 rebounds, led by Olivier's 11; Webster had 33. The Tigers sustained 22 turnovers; Webster, 19.

Now for the boys!

Webster would hang around within threatening distance throughout its boys' game. But Ipswich got a quick trey from Ian Beyers to open the game and Ty Kadlec would add a free throw for an early indication of how the game would go, even though Webster would briefly tie things at 4-4. But Carson Gohl got a basket and Trevor Beyers a trey followed by an Ian Beyers solo steal conversion to increase Ipswich's lead to 11-4 at that stage of the opening quarter. And Ipswich would then hang on for a razon-thin 19-18 lead after a quarter and would then grab a 31-26 edge at intermission.

The hosts would carry a 43-35 lead into the fourth quarter and still led 56-50 midway through the final stanza. And the Tigers were able to cash in on five of eight free throw opportunities down the stretch, as the visitors were forced to foul for possession with the game clock ticking away.

Ian Beyers would become the high scorer for the Tigers with his 21 points that would include a trio of treys. Next would be Taylor Thorson with 14 points, followed by Trevor Beyers also in double-figures with 10 points with two treys. Kadlec would nearly score in double-figures with nine points, featuring a trey and added five of his team's 17 assists. Gohl ended up with four points and Carter Geditz, three points.

Meanwhile, Jaydon Keller also netted 21 points to lead the Bearcats, followed by Jaiden McQuary with eight points and five additional players would score.

Ipswich shot 22-50 from the floor, including those six treys and added 11 free throws in 20 tries. The visiting team countered with 18 baskets in 41 attempts, three of which were treys and were 14-23 at the charity stripe.

Webster captured 32 rebounds led by Keller with 11 for a double-double, while Ipswich hauled down 27 retrieves, paced by Ian Beyers with six.

Ipswich committed 10 turnovers in a well-played floor game, while the visitors sustained 17 miscues. A dozen of those were Ipswich steals, led by Ian Beyers with five thefts.

The IHS girls were to host Waubay/Summit on December 21 in the Tiger Den, while both the Tiger girls and boys will be attending the Big Bo Classic in Wolsey on December 30.