A strong first quarter with an early second-quarter run piled on added up to enough elbow room for the Oskaloosa varsity girls’ basketball team in a 52-43 win over county rival McLouth Friday in McLouth.
The Bears built a 16-point lead early in the second quarter but saw the Bulldogs hang in to cut the deficit back to single digits several times, but the home Bulldogs couldn’t get all the way back in the game.
The teams were struggling at 4-3 Oskaloosa with about 3 minutes left in the opening quarter when Oskaloosa freshman Haley Pfau hit 3-pointers on consecutive Bears possessions to make it 10-3 Oskaloosa. The 7-point lead held at 14-7 as the game went into the second quarter.
Oskaloosa took off as the second quarter began as Pfau hit a baseline jumper on the Bears’ first possession and sophomore guard Hailey Kelly turned a steal into a short jumper from senior Nicole Rockhold to make it 18-7 Oskaloosa. The run would end up at 11-2 as another Pfau 3-pointer and a Rockhold short jumper made the score 25-9 midway through the quarter. McLouth went on a 7-point run, however, punctuated by a 3-point play from junior post player Cassidy Bristol to cut the lead to 25-16 with 2:13 left in the half. Bristol converted another 3-point play with 34 seconds left and Oskaloosa’s lead was cut to 29-21 at the half.
The trend of Oskaloosa stretching out the lead only to see McLouth trim it back down continued in the second half. The Bears scored the first 7 points of the second half to extend the lead back to 36-21 but the Bulldogs made a late surge to cut the lead to 38-31 on a Bristol short jumper with 33 seconds left. Pfau hit a jumper at the buzzer to make the score 40-31 Bears entering the fourth quarter.
Turnovers were the thorn in McLouth’s side throughout the game as they committed 18 compared to only 11 for Oskaloosa. Rockhold scored on consecutive steals by herself and Kelly in the early going of the fourth quarter to make the score 46-34 Oskaloosa. McLouth had chances to trim the lead back under 9 points but couldn’t do so until junior guard Missy Rome hit a 3-pointer with about 90 seconds left to cut the lead to 48-40. Oskaloosa held on, however, and only a Rome 3-pointer with 22 seconds left kept the final deficit at single digits at 52-43 Bears.
Rockhold led the Bears to victory on her 18th birthday with 25 points and 4 steals. Pfau added 17 points and 5 rebounds while sophomore Kristin Brey pulled down 6 rebounds. Kelly had 5 steals. The Bears improved to 15-3 with the win.
McLouth was led by 19 points and 9 rebounds from Rome while junior post player Kylie Shufflebarger pulled down 9 rebounds. Bristol added 11 points and 5 rebounds in the loss. The Bulldogs outrebounded the Bears, 30-24. McLouth fell to 8-10 with the loss.
Oskaloosa head coach LeeAnn Tufte said she credited McLouth for staying in the game as her team just couldn’t keep them put away.
“That’s a good ball club,” Tufte said. “Their record doesn’t show it. A lot of times you get a team down early like that and they kind of fold, but they stayed right there and kept competing. I think we had a few too many missed opportunities tonight. I think we were just stronger throughout the game. Our transition game was also big tonight. We’re getting our posts healthy, so I’m glad to see that. I’m pleased with the win and how we did.”
Oskaloosa boys 53, McLouth 21
The Bulldog boys got down early and a big Bears run in the third quarter all but put the game out of reach.
Oskaloosa jumped out to an 8-2 lead thanks to 3-pointers by sophomore Adam Bowser and senior J.T. Thurston and McLouth struggled to score as the Bears took a 12-4 lead into the second quarter.
McLouth cut the lead down to 4 to start the second quarter but the Bears ended the quarter on an 11-4 run as junior Brandon Barnes hit a 3-pointer. McLouth junior Cole Batman was fouled as time expired and hit one of two free throws to make the halftime score 27-14 Bears.
Oskaloosa scored the first 13 points of the second half and the rout was on. After Oskaloosa senior post player Chase Tenpenny scored on a steal and lay-in with 5:32 left, McLouth coach Jason Schroeder called a timeout to put in his bench because of his team’s play. Oskaloosa built the lead to 40-14 before McLouth finally got back on the board on a jumper by senior Jarrod Bechard with 2:10 left in the quarter. The Bears held a 43-19 lead entering the fourth quarter.
The offensive struggles continued for McLouth in the final period as the Bears held the Bulldogs to 2 points and finished off a 53-21 win.
Tenpenny led the Bears with 14 points as they improved to 10-9. Thurston and sophomore Levi Wade scored 9 points each.
McLouth was led by 7 points from Batman as the Bulldogs dropped to 2-16 on the season.
