Ruckman rains five 3-pointers in win over Panthers

By Jon Dykstra | February 4, 2025 |

JON DYKSTRA/TIMES-TRIBUNE
Worth County junior Rylee Ruckman shoots a 3-pointer on Tuesday in the win over Pattonsburg in Grant City.

GRANT CITY, Mo. — Worth County junior Rylee Ruckman has shown in the past that she can be one of the most dangerous perimeter shooters in the Grand River Conference, but she has been been in a bit of a shooting slump lately — shooting 21% from 3-point range this year.

Tiger first-year coach April Healy hasn’t let that affect her confidence in one of her most experienced players. Healy has encouraged Ruckman to keep firing this season.

“Shooters shoot,” Healy said. “We have never told her to stop. We want her taking those if she likes it.”

In Tuesday’s 46-25 win over Pattonsburg, that faith was rewarded with Ruckman hitting 5-of-11 3-pointers including four in the first half for a total of 15 points.

“It feels good to come back out and be like I was at the start of the season — getting my buckets and getting my threes,” Ruckman said. “I was in a slump, but we came out and worked as a team really well tonight. We wanted it and we were in it together.”

Ruckman’s second 3-pointer of the game extended the lead to 13-2 in the first quarter. The backcourt started out on fire with six points from Ruckman, five from freshman point guard Audrey Runde and two off the bench from super sixth-player Keira Hardy.

“We always seem to have slow starts, but we were ready in the locker room tonight and we came out hot and we wanted it,” Ruckman said. “We were ready for it and we were due.”

The Panthers were able to keep it within 19-7 early in the second quarter, but the Tigers responded by establishing their interior game with a basket from sophomore Kambree Briner starting an 8-0 run that saw two scores from sophomore Kristen Tracy and another from Hardy for a 27-7 lead.

“It is really nice when our wings are hitting threes,” Briner said. “It helps us a lot and gets us hyped.”

Pattonsburg had a quick 5-0 run, but Ruckman’s fourth 3-pointer of the quarter stopped the run and Worth County led 30-14 at halftime.

“After I hit those first couple threes, I knew that I was with it tonight and I knew that the gym time and all the extra shots I’ve been putting up outside of practice is paying off,” Ruckman said.

The Panthers whittled the margin back down to 31-18, but it was Hardy who put the game away. Known for her defensive intensity, Hardy has also been providing an offensive spark off the bench as well recently. She had six-straight points to push the margin to 37-18.

“She always gives us really good defensive energy with her speed, and here lately, we’ve been working on it in practice to try and attack gaps,” Healy said.

That started a 13-0 run to end the quarter for Worth County as Briner and Tracy scored inside and Ruckman capped her big night and the quarter with a fifth triple for a 44-18 lead.

“(Pattonsburg) is kinda known for playing a little bit of a junk defense, and we found the open players and they hit shots,” Healy said. “Ruckman was due and she went off tonight.”

Healy played different lineups and made sure to get her girls plenty of rest in the fourth quarter — as much as is possible with a 7-girl roster. Pattonsburg continued to fight and won the fourth quarter 7-2 for the final 46-25 margin of victory.

Ruckman’s 15 and Hardy’s 10 led the Tigers in scoring while Runde, Briner and Kristen Tracy each had six, and Megan Tracy added three. Pattonsburg was led by Annabelle Gardner’s 13 and Ainsley Johnson’s 10 while Jayden Goble had two.

Worth County is set to host its Courtwarming on Friday against St. Joseph Christian.

“We just need to keep working together and keep thriving with each other,” Briner said.

Nodaway Valley 65, Worth County 35

The Thunder defended their top-10 ranking in Class 2 with a 65-35 win over Worth County last Friday.

Worth County was led by 12 points from Kristen Tracy, seven each from Audrey Runde and Megan Tracy, five from Keira Hardy and four from Rylee Ruckman.

Nodaway Valley was led by Ava Graham’s 25 points and Annalee Livengood’s 14. Paige Hanson and Paidyn Linville each added seven points while Haylee Dawson and Gracie Larabee both had six.