A defensive battle ensued Saturday between county rivals Jefferson County North and Valley Falls in the championship game of the JCN girls invitational tournament, but when the dust settled, the home Chargers emerged with a tourney title and perfect record intact.
An early fourth-quarter run helped North put away a game that still seemed closer than the final 48-34 score, and tough JCN full-court pressure defense was the key in a game in which both teams seemed to be running out of gas physically down the stretch.
JCN moved to the title game with wins over Perry-Lecompton and McLouth, while Valley Falls defeated ACCHS and Bishop Ward to move to the championship game.
Valley Falls took the early lead but North went on an 8-point run to close the quarter and take a 10-5 lead into the second quarter. A 3-pointer by senior Lisa Weishaar gave the Chargers a 7-point lead early in the second quarter but Valley Falls sophomore guard Abbey Kearney struck back with a 3-pointer shortly thereafter to cut the North lead back to only 2 at 15-13. An offensive rebound and short jumper by North junior forward Mallory GrandPre gave the Chargers a 6-point lead with under two minutes to play in the half but a late Dragons score made the halftime score 21-17 JCN.
The North lead hovered around 5 in the early going of the third quarter and Valley Falls would cut into the lead only to see JCN stretch it back out. Kearney scored on a reverse lay-in to cut the lead to 25-22 but North stretched the lead to 7 to end the quarter as senior Amelia Noll scored on a short jumper and, following a Dragons turnover, GrandPre hit a short jumper with 10 seconds left to make it 30-22 JCN entering the fourth quarter.
North used its stifling press to turn the tables in the first quarter and the high-pressure defense continued to pay dividends in the late stages. A steal and score by Amelia Noll gave North its first double-figures lead at 33-22 and Valley Falls wouldn’t cut it back to single digits again. A GrandPre short jumpshot made the lead 15 at 41-26 and North was able to salt away the last three minutes of the game and come away with the 48-34 win. The final score was initially reported at 47-34 but a point was determined by scorekeepers to be missed in the third quarter to make the final 48-34.
GrandPre led the Chargers with 17 points and freshman Jordan Kramer scored 11 points in the win. Both were named to the all-tourney team along with Amelia Noll, who scored 18 in the semifinal win over McLouth. Valley Falls was led by 10 points from Kearney, who was also named to the all-tournament team.
JCN coach Steve Noll said the win wasn’t easy but he would take it all the same. North improved to 11-0 while Valley Falls dropped to 7-5.
“I think we might have been a little tired after playing the game at the level we did last night (versus McLouth in a 53-27 win),” he said. “We missed a lot of bunnies and a lot of free throws, but we played well enough to win. It was really an all-around team game. We won, and that’s the key thing. Our first goal was to repeat at the DVL tourney, and our second was winning this one. We just need to maintain our focus and go from there. I never really thought we’d be 11-0 right now. It just seems like each game we still see things we’ve gotta work on.”
McLouth fourth, Oskaloosa fifth
The McLouth Bulldogs found the going rough in the semifinals and third-place game as a beating at the hands of North in the semis was followed by a tough 9-point loss to Bishop Ward in the consolation game.
McLouth held the early lead on Ward but Ward closed out the first quarter on a 13-2 run to take a 15-8 lead into the second quarter. The lead reached 10 in the second quarter but McLouth junior standout guard Missy Rome helped tighten the game with 4 late points to cut Ward’s halftime lead to 24-19.
McLouth cut the lead to 3 early in the third quarter but Ward went on a 6-point run to stretch the lead to 9 and McLouth couldn’t consistently stop Ward junior guard Kylie Burns or sophomore post player Allison Dorr. A 3-pointer by junior guard Liddy Maurin gave Ward a 39-25 lead and the lead was 39-27 going into the fourth quarter. The lead reached 15 points early in the fourth quarter and McLouth wasn’t able to cut into it quickly enough to make the game close. The Bulldogs chipped the lead to 8 with under a minute left but Ward came away with the 51-42 win.
Burns scored 17 points and Dorr added 13 points for Ward in the win. McLouth was led by 20 points from Rome, who was named to the all-tournament team along with Burns. McLouth dropped to 6-6 with the loss.
In the fifth-place game, a rematch between Oskaloosa and Perry-Lecompton didn’t go exactly like their first meeting this season for the Bears.
Oskaloosa defeated the Kaws, 52-32, on Jan. 20 but, in Saturday’s fifth-place game, the Bears received a much tougher welcome as a slow Kaw start would factor in to a narrow 42-40 Oskaloosa victory.
The game was tied at 4 deep into the first quarter when Oskaloosa freshman Haley Pfau hit a 3-pointer to give the Bears a 7-4 lead that was 9-4 by the end of the first quarter. The Kaws started the second quarter on a 10-4 run as a jumper by Kaws junior guard Katie Hirsch gave Perry-Lecompton its first lead at 14-13. Oskaloosa responded with a 6-point run punctuated by a jumper by senior standout guard Nicole Rockhold and took a 19-15 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The Kaws came out gunning in the second half as a Hirsch jumper would cut the lead to 23-22. A short jumper by senior forward Megan Elder regained the lead for the Kaws at 28-27 and they eventually built a 3-point lead. It was short-lived as a Pfau jumper gave Oskaloosa a 31-30 lead with under a minute left in the quarter. Elder responded with a jumper to give the Kaws back the lead but Oskaloosa sophomore guard Hailey Kelly hit a big 3-pointer at the buzzer to make the score 34-32 Bears going into the final quarter.
Kaws sophomore guard Abbey Bays hit a 3-pointer to cut the Bears’ lead to 1 early in the fourth quarter and it stayed that way until Rockhold hit one of two free throws with just over a minute left to make it 39-37 Bears. Carver stepped up for a 3-point jumper with 50 seconds left to give the Kaws a 40-39 lead but Rockhold drew a foul and made one of two free throws with 28.4 seconds left to tie the game at 40. The Kaws called a timeout with 21.8 seconds left and, in a key play, Carver was called for traveling off an in-bounds pass to give Oskaloosa back the ball. Pfau ended up being the hero with a jumper with 9.6 seconds left and then a blocked shot at the other end of the court to seal the 42-40 win for the Bears.
Rockhold led the Bears with 14 points and Pfau scored 10 points in the win. Both were named to the all-tournament team. Perry-Lecompton was led by 11 points from Carver, and Kaws junior forward Katie Volle was named to the all-tournament team after leading the Kaws in scoring in their other two tournament games. She scored 8 versus Oskaloosa.
Oskaloosa improved to 10-2 with the win while Perry-Lecompton fell to 2-9.
Bears head coach LeeAnn Tufte admitted her team had its sights set on better than fifth place, but a hot-shooting Ward team dealt them their second loss of the season in the first round. She said she was happy to see her team respond and play well to take fifth.
“(Perry-Lecompton) was ready for us,” Tufte said. “We’re battling some injuries and sicknesses, and that’s affecting some of our players, but they looked much improved from the first time we played them. It’s also tough for us with only 10 players. We played a good game, and I thought we played really strong defensively. We just need to make sure we stay focused moving forward and play better offensively. I’m happy with the win.”
In the seventh-place game, ACCHS rolled past Atchison, 61-39.
