A second quarter surge helped the Oskaloosa varsity girls’ basketball team stay perfect in league regular season play as the Bears rolled past Doniphan West, 46-26, Friday in Oskaloosa.
The win improved the Bears to 7-1 with their only loss coming in the Delaware Valley League preseason tourney against Jefferson County North. Games in the tournament don’t count toward the DVL teams’ league records.
Defense was the name of the game for OHS Friday as the Bears forced 19 West turnovers while committing only 9 themselves, including only 2 in the second half. This outweighed a rebounding advantage that was 31-20 in favor of the visiting Mustangs.
The score was 2-2 for a chunk of the first quarter as neither team could find the mark offensively. Oskaloosa senior Nicole Rockhold finally broke the stalemate with a baseline jumper with 2:43 to play in the quarter and the teams played to a 7-6 Oskaloosa lead entering the second quarter.
Rockhold got the Bears started with a short turnaround jumper with 6:18 left in the half and the Bears went on a run. They rattled off the final 9 points of the half including 5 points from Rockhold to make the halftime score 22-9 Bears.
Doniphan West played better offensively in the third quarter but Oskaloosa edged further away. The Bears scored the first 4 points of the half and extended the lead to 16 at 28-12 before the Mustangs began a comeback. Two 3-pointers by senior Taylor Twombly helped trim the lead to 9 at 28-19, but the Bears responded with an 8-2 run to end the quarter with a 36-21 lead as Rockhold and freshman Haley Pfau scored 4 points each on the run thanks in part to quick transition offense.
From there, it was a matter of time as Oskaloosa’s lead reached 19 early in the fourth quarter. Bears coach LeeAnn Tufte put in the reserves to finish off the 46-26 win.
Rockhold led the Bears with 20 points in the win and added 5 rebounds and 3 steals. Sophomore Hailey Kelly was the other Bear in double figures with 11 points and also had 3 steals. Pfau added 6 rebounds in the win to lead the team in that category. Doniphan West was led by 12 points and 6 rebounds from junior Lisa Scholz and 10 rebounds from junior Jessica Gartner.
Tufte said all around it was a good win for her team.
“We played solid defensively,” she said. “During those times like the first quarter where our offense isn’t running well, defense like that keeps us right there. I’m very pleased. Our bench also did well so I’m happy to see that.”
Oskaloosa boys 46, Doniphan West 31
The Bear boys used a strong second half to pull away from the Mustangs and get their first league win.
Rebounding was a key for Oskaloosa as the Bears pulled down 30 rebounds compared to only 16 for West. They also forced 18 turnovers while committing 17.
West grabbed an early 7-4 lead but saw the Bears go on a 10-2 run to take the lead thanks to 4 points each from senior Chase Tenpenny and sophomore Adam Bowser. The Bears took a 14-11 lead into the second quarter.
The Bears lead hung in the area of 3-4 points through the second quarter as neither team could gain ground on the other. Oskaloosa’s lead reached 6 but a 3-point play by West senior Travis Twombly cut it back to 3 and the Bears took a 22-18 lead into halftime. The Mustangs suffered a key loss in the quarter as senior guard Zach Lee collided with Oskaloosa senior J.T. Thurston and hit the floor hard and left the game with an apparent cut on the back of his head.
The third quarter would prove pivotal as a Thurston 3-point play helped the Bears build the lead to 29-20. West cut the lead back to 5 but Oskaloosa built it back to the point the Bears held a 35-26 lead going into the fourth quarter.
The Bears finished the game strong as they outscored the Mustangs, 11-5, in the final period. The lead reached 11 early in the quarter and free throws helped the Bears pull away for a 46-31 victory.
Thurston led the way for Oskaloosa with 15 points along with 5 rebounds. Tenpenny notched a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds to go with 5 steals and Bowser added 11 points in the win. West was led by 10 points and 4 rebounds from Twombly.
The win improved Oskaloosa to 5-4 following league losses to Troy and Jackson Heights. Bears coach Rod Stottlemire said he was glad to get the win but his team needs more consistency if it wants to make an impact in the postseason.
“We turned the ball over too much in the first half, but we played real hard defensively,” Stottlemire said. “We’ve figured out that if we can hold the other team under 44 points we can win. That’s our magic number. We got some good looks there in the second half and had some layups. We’ve gotta do better at being consistent in rebounding and on offense. We did better tonight about not letting them have second chance points. If we can get that consistency, we’ll be OK.”
