Monday’s games (March 1)
Girls
2A substate quarterfinals
Oskaloosa 43, Lyndon 38
• The Bears outscored Lyndon, 12-4, in the fourth quarter to win and improve to 14-7. Sophomore Haley Pfau scored 23 and junior Hailey Kelly scored 14 in the win. They were set to play Lebo in Thursday’s semifinals in Lebo.
Lebo 59, Valley Falls 37
• The Dragons finished 8-13. Junior Abbey Kearney led the way with 12 points in the loss.
4A substate quarterfinals
Perry-Lecompton 59, Atchison 30
• The Kaws improved to 11-9 and moved into the semifinals versus Royal Valley Thursday on their home court in Hoyt. Junior Abbey Bays led the Kaws with 14 points, sophomore Natasha Carver scored 13 and senior Jessica Christman scored 10 in the win.
Hiawatha 46, Jefferson West 43
• A 15-4 third quarter gave West a lead they couldn’t hold as the Tigers’ season ended at 7-14. Senior BriAnna Ploude led the Tigers with 12 points.
Boys
3A substate quarterfinals
KC Christian 56, McLouth 18
• The Bulldogs finished the season 4-19. Sophomore Shawn Dailey led McLouth with 8 points.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Kaw varsity swept by Santa Fe Trail
by Kenneth Lassiter
For one Perry-Lecompton varsity basketball team, it was a rough end to a good season. For the other, it was just another rough ending, as the Kaw varsities were swept by Santa Fe Trail on the final night of the regular season Friday in Perry.
The Kaw girls started the season 8-1 but finished with a 10-9 record after Friday’s 32-24 loss to Trail. Despite the late-season swoon, the record marks the first winning Kaw campaign and first 10-win campaign since the 1990s. The Kaw boys, on the flip side, have taken their lumps this season. A good effort went for naught Friday with a 60-57 loss to Trail to drop the Kaws to 2-18 to end the regular season.
The girls’ varsity game was a struggle for both teams at times. Perry-Lecompton would pull close only to see the Chargers stretch the lead out, until Trail finally came away with the 8-point win.
The game was tied at 3 more than halfway through the first quarter when SFT senior Korbynn Stallbaumer hit a 3-pointer and senior Megan Fischer hit a jumper to give the Chargers an 8-3 lead entering the second quarter.
The Kaws went nearly five minutes of game play before senior Emma Gantz broke their scoring drought with a jumper at the 6:02 mark of the second quarter. The Perry-Lecompton offense started to show some signs of life thereafter as two more Gantz scores cut the Trail lead to 12-11 with 3:24 left in the half. That was all the scoring they’d get, though, as the Chargers took a 14-11 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Trail started the second half with a 3-pointer from senior Shara Luther but Gantz and senior Jessica Christman hit shots to end another long Kaw scoring drought and cut the lead to 2 at 17-15 Trail. The Kaws cut the lead to 1 twice but Santa Fe Trail scored the final 4 points of the third quarter to take a 24-19 lead into the final period.
Frustrated with his team’s play, Kaws coach Justin Mayer would pull the starters with 5:30 left in the game only to send them back into the game less than a minute of gameplay later as Trail held a 6-point lead. The Kaw offense couldn’t score, however, as Trail’s lead reached 9 points at its pinnacle. The Kaws would only have 2 points in the final 3:08 as Trail took home the 32-24 victory.
Gantz led the Kaws in scoring with 8 points. Mayer said after the game he was glad to have a home game Monday for the first round of substate but the late part of the season hasn’t gone well for his team.
“It’s pretty cool that we get a home game in the first round of substate,” he said. “I don’t know if we’ve had one of those in a long time. We’ll try to make the most of it. The second half of our season has been pretty tough. I thought we looked sleepy out there tonight. We just can’t knock down shots right now. It’s become frustrating for us. We’ve got to have people who are confident enough to take good shots and make something happen.
“It’s been our best season in a while but I hope the girls aren’t satisfied with that. We’ve had six of our losses at 5 points or less. We have to figure out how to pull out these close games.”
The Kaws are the second seed in the Royal Valley 4A substate and were set to play host to Atchison on Monday.
Trail boys 60,
Perry-Lecompton 57
A frustrating regular season ended with a good effort Friday for the Kaw boys as they surged back from a big halftime deficit to have the ball with a chance to tie the game at the final buzzer.
The game was even through the early few minutes until Trail started to edge away on the scoreboard. A baseline 3-pointer by Kaw senior Kameron Hurd gave the Kaws the lead at 8-5 but Charger junior Dalton Abel hit a jumper and then converted a 3-point play to swing the lead to Trail. The Chargers ended the quarter on a 13-2 run as junior Anthony Perry hit a putback at the buzzer to make the score 18-10 Trail entering the second quarter.
Trail would stretch the lead in the second quarter thanks in part to a stifling press defense. Senior Logan Hurd hit an early 3-pointer for the Kaws to cut the lead to 7 but an 11-3 run increased the Chargers’ lead to 15. The lead eventually reached 19 as Trail senior Jason Lee got a steal on the press and hit a short jumper to make it 37-18 SFT. Kameron Hurd hit a 3-pointer with 1:35 left in the half but the Chargers would go to the locker room with a 39-21 lead at the half.
The Kaws began to chip away at the lead in the third quarter. Kameron Hurd hit another 3-pointer to start the scoring and senior Brad Phillips hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 10 at one point. Senior Shelby Politte scored off an offensive rebound with 3:19 left in the quarter to cut the lead to single digits at 44-35 but Trail would stretch it back to 13 at 48-35 entering the fourth quarter.
The Kaws kept on the offensive pressure as they started to beat the Trail press consistently. Politte scored off a Phillips pass on the Kaws’ first possession of the fourth quarter and it took more than two minutes of game time before Kameron Hurd drilled another 3-pointer to cut the lead to 10 with 5:41 left in the game. Another trifecta from Kameron Hurd cut the lead to 7 with 4:40 to play and, after a jumpball gave the ball back to Perry-Lecompton, senior Riley Shafer hit a baseline jumper to cut the lead to 5 at 55-50.
Trail began to stall on offense as Perry-Lecompton didn’t get the ball back until the 1:48 mark after two free throws from Trail senior Jesse Bahner. Politte scored with 1:02 left after a missed free throw by Chargers senior Stuart Kraus, and Shafer and Logan Hurd teamed up for a steal and Shafer lay-in to cut the lead to 3 at 57-54 with 44 seconds left in the game. Bahner hit 2 more free throws with 39 seconds left and the Kaws missed a chance to cut back into the lead as Lee pulled down a defensive rebound. He would hit only 1 of 2 free throws after being fouled and Politte nailed a 3-pointer with 7 seconds left to cut the lead to 60-57.
The Kaws got a key stroke of fortune on the ensuing inbounds play as the Trail inbounds pass sailed out of bounds to give the Kaws the ball on their offensive end with 2.1 seconds left. Shafer was fouled on an inbounds play with 1 second left, and Kameron Hurd took the ensuing inbounds pass but his desperation 3-pointer missed the mark as Trail escaped, 60-57.
Kameron Hurd finished his final home game as a Kaw with 17 points while Politte scored 16 points in the losing effort.
The loss brought the Kaws’ regular season to an end at 2-18. They entered substate play at Hoyt as the eighth seed and were set to play top seed Pleasant Ridge Tuesday in Easton.
For one Perry-Lecompton varsity basketball team, it was a rough end to a good season. For the other, it was just another rough ending, as the Kaw varsities were swept by Santa Fe Trail on the final night of the regular season Friday in Perry.
The Kaw girls started the season 8-1 but finished with a 10-9 record after Friday’s 32-24 loss to Trail. Despite the late-season swoon, the record marks the first winning Kaw campaign and first 10-win campaign since the 1990s. The Kaw boys, on the flip side, have taken their lumps this season. A good effort went for naught Friday with a 60-57 loss to Trail to drop the Kaws to 2-18 to end the regular season.
The girls’ varsity game was a struggle for both teams at times. Perry-Lecompton would pull close only to see the Chargers stretch the lead out, until Trail finally came away with the 8-point win.
The game was tied at 3 more than halfway through the first quarter when SFT senior Korbynn Stallbaumer hit a 3-pointer and senior Megan Fischer hit a jumper to give the Chargers an 8-3 lead entering the second quarter.
The Kaws went nearly five minutes of game play before senior Emma Gantz broke their scoring drought with a jumper at the 6:02 mark of the second quarter. The Perry-Lecompton offense started to show some signs of life thereafter as two more Gantz scores cut the Trail lead to 12-11 with 3:24 left in the half. That was all the scoring they’d get, though, as the Chargers took a 14-11 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Trail started the second half with a 3-pointer from senior Shara Luther but Gantz and senior Jessica Christman hit shots to end another long Kaw scoring drought and cut the lead to 2 at 17-15 Trail. The Kaws cut the lead to 1 twice but Santa Fe Trail scored the final 4 points of the third quarter to take a 24-19 lead into the final period.
Frustrated with his team’s play, Kaws coach Justin Mayer would pull the starters with 5:30 left in the game only to send them back into the game less than a minute of gameplay later as Trail held a 6-point lead. The Kaw offense couldn’t score, however, as Trail’s lead reached 9 points at its pinnacle. The Kaws would only have 2 points in the final 3:08 as Trail took home the 32-24 victory.
Gantz led the Kaws in scoring with 8 points. Mayer said after the game he was glad to have a home game Monday for the first round of substate but the late part of the season hasn’t gone well for his team.
“It’s pretty cool that we get a home game in the first round of substate,” he said. “I don’t know if we’ve had one of those in a long time. We’ll try to make the most of it. The second half of our season has been pretty tough. I thought we looked sleepy out there tonight. We just can’t knock down shots right now. It’s become frustrating for us. We’ve got to have people who are confident enough to take good shots and make something happen.
“It’s been our best season in a while but I hope the girls aren’t satisfied with that. We’ve had six of our losses at 5 points or less. We have to figure out how to pull out these close games.”
The Kaws are the second seed in the Royal Valley 4A substate and were set to play host to Atchison on Monday.
Trail boys 60,
Perry-Lecompton 57
A frustrating regular season ended with a good effort Friday for the Kaw boys as they surged back from a big halftime deficit to have the ball with a chance to tie the game at the final buzzer.
The game was even through the early few minutes until Trail started to edge away on the scoreboard. A baseline 3-pointer by Kaw senior Kameron Hurd gave the Kaws the lead at 8-5 but Charger junior Dalton Abel hit a jumper and then converted a 3-point play to swing the lead to Trail. The Chargers ended the quarter on a 13-2 run as junior Anthony Perry hit a putback at the buzzer to make the score 18-10 Trail entering the second quarter.
Trail would stretch the lead in the second quarter thanks in part to a stifling press defense. Senior Logan Hurd hit an early 3-pointer for the Kaws to cut the lead to 7 but an 11-3 run increased the Chargers’ lead to 15. The lead eventually reached 19 as Trail senior Jason Lee got a steal on the press and hit a short jumper to make it 37-18 SFT. Kameron Hurd hit a 3-pointer with 1:35 left in the half but the Chargers would go to the locker room with a 39-21 lead at the half.
The Kaws began to chip away at the lead in the third quarter. Kameron Hurd hit another 3-pointer to start the scoring and senior Brad Phillips hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 10 at one point. Senior Shelby Politte scored off an offensive rebound with 3:19 left in the quarter to cut the lead to single digits at 44-35 but Trail would stretch it back to 13 at 48-35 entering the fourth quarter.
The Kaws kept on the offensive pressure as they started to beat the Trail press consistently. Politte scored off a Phillips pass on the Kaws’ first possession of the fourth quarter and it took more than two minutes of game time before Kameron Hurd drilled another 3-pointer to cut the lead to 10 with 5:41 left in the game. Another trifecta from Kameron Hurd cut the lead to 7 with 4:40 to play and, after a jumpball gave the ball back to Perry-Lecompton, senior Riley Shafer hit a baseline jumper to cut the lead to 5 at 55-50.
Trail began to stall on offense as Perry-Lecompton didn’t get the ball back until the 1:48 mark after two free throws from Trail senior Jesse Bahner. Politte scored with 1:02 left after a missed free throw by Chargers senior Stuart Kraus, and Shafer and Logan Hurd teamed up for a steal and Shafer lay-in to cut the lead to 3 at 57-54 with 44 seconds left in the game. Bahner hit 2 more free throws with 39 seconds left and the Kaws missed a chance to cut back into the lead as Lee pulled down a defensive rebound. He would hit only 1 of 2 free throws after being fouled and Politte nailed a 3-pointer with 7 seconds left to cut the lead to 60-57.
The Kaws got a key stroke of fortune on the ensuing inbounds play as the Trail inbounds pass sailed out of bounds to give the Kaws the ball on their offensive end with 2.1 seconds left. Shafer was fouled on an inbounds play with 1 second left, and Kameron Hurd took the ensuing inbounds pass but his desperation 3-pointer missed the mark as Trail escaped, 60-57.
Kameron Hurd finished his final home game as a Kaw with 17 points while Politte scored 16 points in the losing effort.
The loss brought the Kaws’ regular season to an end at 2-18. They entered substate play at Hoyt as the eighth seed and were set to play top seed Pleasant Ridge Tuesday in Easton.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Bulldog girls get comeback win over Oskie
The McLouth Bulldog varsity girls’ basketball team made up for a lackluster first half Friday with a doozy of a second half as they overcame cross-county rival Oskaloosa, 56-52, in Oskaloosa.
The Bulldogs were down 8 at the half but turned up both the offense and defense in the second half to overcome a decided 39-22 rebounding advantage for Oskaloosa in the game.
The key was some scoring output from sources other than McLouth senior standout guard Missy Rome, although Rome made her presence felt in the second half as well. Sophomore guards Morgan Drinnon and Terri Stewart chipped in offensively while senior forward Kylie Shufflebarger had 6 fourth-quarter points to help the Bulldogs to victory.
The game started out all Oskaloosa as the Bears ran off the first 8 points of the game and the Bulldogs were still scoreless at the 4-minute mark of the quarter. Stewart put an end to that with McLouth’s first score with 3:34 left and the Bulldogs began the short climb back into the game. Stewart drilled a 3-pointer with 42 seconds left to cut the Bear lead to 3 and, after a 3-point play by Bears junior guard Hailey Kelly, Drinnon hit a 3-pointer with time dwindling to cut the Bears’ lead to 13-10 entering the second quarter.
Again, McLouth’s offense sputtered as the Bears built the lead to 9 points by scoring the first 6 points of the quarter. And again, the McLouth offense went scoreless until Rome hit 2 free throws with 3:55 left in the half. The Bears’ lead reached 11 late in the half before Drinnon sank another late 3-pointer to cut the halftime lead to 25-17 Oskaloosa.
Both offenses came out firing in the second half as the teams combined for four 3-pointers in the first 4 minutes. The Bears stretched the lead to 12 early but Drinnon nailed her third 3-pointer of the game. Bears sophomore guard Haley Pfau answered with a 3-pointer at the other end but Stewart hit a baseline 3 to cut the Bears’ lead to 8 with 6:18 left in the quarter. Stewart scored off a nice pass from Rome to cut the lead to 6 and Rome later cut the lead to 5 with a 3-pointer of her own. The lead continued to dwindle as Shufflebarger hit a free throw then Rome scored off an offensive rebound to cut the Oskaloosa lead to 2 at 35-33. The Bears were able to hold the lead at 4 as Drinnon hit 2 free throws but Kelly went coast-to-coast for a late layin to make the score 41-37 Bears entering the fourth quarter.
The Bulldogs focused on working the ball inside to Shufflebarger throughout the game and, in the final period, the shots began to fall. She scored the Bulldogs’ first 5 points of the quarter and a Rome 3-pointer with 5:17 to play gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the game at 45-43. A score from junior guard Logan Terry stretched the lead to 4 but senior Audrey Trowbridge scored off a Pfau pass and Kelly drilled a 3-pointer to give the Bears a 1-point lead with 3:28 to play. Terry answered with a 3-pointer and 2 Rome free throws made it 52-48 with 2:34 left.
Oskaloosa was unable to overcome the deficit as shots wouldn’t fall and the Bulldogs got rebounds when they needed them. The Bears had the ball down 3 with 23 seconds left but a long inbounds pass resulted in a turnover and Shufflebarger hit a free throw to make it a two-possession game for the Bears. Kelly missed 2 free throws but senior Kyra Coffman came up with an offensive rebound and hit both free throws after getting fouled. The Bulldogs would escape, however, as Rome took the inbounds pass and hit both free throws with 1.9 seconds left to give McLouth the 56-52 win.
Rome scored 18 points to lead the Bulldogs, with 14 points coming in the second half. Drinnon scored 13 points while Stewart added 11 points in the win. Shufflebarger finished with 9 points and also led the Bulldogs with 8 rebounds and 5 steals. Rome pulled down 6 rebounds with 3 steals.
Oskaloosa was led by 18 points from Pfau, who also grabbed 8 rebounds. Kelly added 16 points and 8 rebounds while Coffman pulled down 9 rebounds and senior Mallory Schmidt grabbed 7 boards.
The win improved McLouth’s record to 12-7 entering the regular season’s final week. The Bears fell to 10-6 but bounced back with a makeup shellacking of Wathena Saturday.
McLouth first-year coach Bob Good said his team benefitted from some close games this season, plus the players seem to step up their games in the second half.
“I told them (at halftime) we basically needed to get back on defense and be better at stopping their dribble penetration,” Good said. “Get back, stop the ball and rebound. I told them the shots would fall, we just need to keep doing what we’re doing on offense. They came on strong. Kylie came on late and the shots started falling. Morgan has grown up a lot this season and has gotten more physical with her game. Logan made a couple big shots for us. This team, for some reason, just has a different level of intensity in the fourth quarter. The game gets late and they get better. I like that demeanor.
“We’re working to get a home game that first round of substate. That’s our focus right now. We want to get down the road a little bit farther than they have (in recent seasons).”
Oskaloosa boys 44, McLouth 37
The boys game was a little bit of a mirror image of the girls’ contest as the Bulldogs established an early lead but couldn’t stop Bears junior guard Adam Bowser in the second half.
Bowser scored 17 second-half points as the Bears held on in the fourth quarter for the win. On the flip side, the Bears held McLouth leading scorer senior guard Cole Batman scoreless in the game to help their cause.
The teams got off to a slow start as it was 6-4 with 2:15 to play in the first quarter, but the Bulldogs finished the quarter on a 5-1 run as sophomore guard Shawn Dailey hit a 3-pointer to make it 11-5 McLouth entering the second quarter.
The Bears began to draw closer in the second quarter as senior Brandon Barnes hit a jumper to cut the lead to 11-9. Another Dailey 3-pointer helped the Bulldogs stay ahead but 2 Bowser free throws and a jumper from sophomore Adam Brien cut the lead back to 1 with 3:54 to play in the half. The scores sparked a 10-point Bears run as McLouth didn’t get back on the board until freshman Marc Walbridge hit a jumper with 1:20 left in the half to make the halftime score 19-16 Oskaloosa.
The Bulldogs hung around the lead in the third quarter as a Walbridge 3 tied the game at 22 with 3:55 left in the quarter. Bowser answered with a 3-pointer as the Bears were able to stretch the lead back to 5. Walbridge hit another 3-pointer with 37 seconds left to cut the Bear lead to 29-27 entering the fourth quarter.
The Bears couldn’t pull away from the Bulldogs until a Bowser 3-pointer and 2 Bowser free throws gave them a 6-point lead with just under 4 minutes left in the game. A 3-point play by McLouth sophomore Alen Kramer cut the lead back to 3 with 2:24 to play but the Bulldogs would get no closer. There was some late controversy as McLouth was in a must-foul situation late and junior guard Derek Wright was called for an intentional foul much to the dislike of Bulldog fans. The ensuing possession helped the Bears to a 6-pont lead and senior Adam Marshall got a key steal and hit a free throw with 14 seconds left to help the Bears to the 44-37 win.
Bowser added 7 rebounds to his 21 points to lead the Bears. Junior Braden McGinnis pulled down 7 rebounds as both teams had 24 rebounds in the game.
McLouth was led by 11 points from Walbridge and 9 points from Dailey. Sophomore forward Gavin Swearngin had 8 rebounds and junior forward Trevor Roberts had 6 rebounds.
Oskaloosa coach Rod Stottlemire said after several close losses this season, it was nice to see his team pull out a victory Friday.
“We’ve lost three overtime games and on a bank-in 3 at the buzzer, so any win we can pull off at the end is a good win,” Stottlemire said. “We’ve had a lot of close misses on the raod and the guys have worked real hard this season. McLouth is playing pretty well, so we’re happy to get the win. We’ve got to be more consistent on offense and step our free throws up a bit as well going into substate here.”
The Bears improved to 8-9 with the win while McLouth fell to 3-17. The Bears dropped their makeup game with Wathena Saturday to fall to 8-10.
The Bulldogs were down 8 at the half but turned up both the offense and defense in the second half to overcome a decided 39-22 rebounding advantage for Oskaloosa in the game.
The key was some scoring output from sources other than McLouth senior standout guard Missy Rome, although Rome made her presence felt in the second half as well. Sophomore guards Morgan Drinnon and Terri Stewart chipped in offensively while senior forward Kylie Shufflebarger had 6 fourth-quarter points to help the Bulldogs to victory.
The game started out all Oskaloosa as the Bears ran off the first 8 points of the game and the Bulldogs were still scoreless at the 4-minute mark of the quarter. Stewart put an end to that with McLouth’s first score with 3:34 left and the Bulldogs began the short climb back into the game. Stewart drilled a 3-pointer with 42 seconds left to cut the Bear lead to 3 and, after a 3-point play by Bears junior guard Hailey Kelly, Drinnon hit a 3-pointer with time dwindling to cut the Bears’ lead to 13-10 entering the second quarter.
Again, McLouth’s offense sputtered as the Bears built the lead to 9 points by scoring the first 6 points of the quarter. And again, the McLouth offense went scoreless until Rome hit 2 free throws with 3:55 left in the half. The Bears’ lead reached 11 late in the half before Drinnon sank another late 3-pointer to cut the halftime lead to 25-17 Oskaloosa.
Both offenses came out firing in the second half as the teams combined for four 3-pointers in the first 4 minutes. The Bears stretched the lead to 12 early but Drinnon nailed her third 3-pointer of the game. Bears sophomore guard Haley Pfau answered with a 3-pointer at the other end but Stewart hit a baseline 3 to cut the Bears’ lead to 8 with 6:18 left in the quarter. Stewart scored off a nice pass from Rome to cut the lead to 6 and Rome later cut the lead to 5 with a 3-pointer of her own. The lead continued to dwindle as Shufflebarger hit a free throw then Rome scored off an offensive rebound to cut the Oskaloosa lead to 2 at 35-33. The Bears were able to hold the lead at 4 as Drinnon hit 2 free throws but Kelly went coast-to-coast for a late layin to make the score 41-37 Bears entering the fourth quarter.
The Bulldogs focused on working the ball inside to Shufflebarger throughout the game and, in the final period, the shots began to fall. She scored the Bulldogs’ first 5 points of the quarter and a Rome 3-pointer with 5:17 to play gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the game at 45-43. A score from junior guard Logan Terry stretched the lead to 4 but senior Audrey Trowbridge scored off a Pfau pass and Kelly drilled a 3-pointer to give the Bears a 1-point lead with 3:28 to play. Terry answered with a 3-pointer and 2 Rome free throws made it 52-48 with 2:34 left.
Oskaloosa was unable to overcome the deficit as shots wouldn’t fall and the Bulldogs got rebounds when they needed them. The Bears had the ball down 3 with 23 seconds left but a long inbounds pass resulted in a turnover and Shufflebarger hit a free throw to make it a two-possession game for the Bears. Kelly missed 2 free throws but senior Kyra Coffman came up with an offensive rebound and hit both free throws after getting fouled. The Bulldogs would escape, however, as Rome took the inbounds pass and hit both free throws with 1.9 seconds left to give McLouth the 56-52 win.
Rome scored 18 points to lead the Bulldogs, with 14 points coming in the second half. Drinnon scored 13 points while Stewart added 11 points in the win. Shufflebarger finished with 9 points and also led the Bulldogs with 8 rebounds and 5 steals. Rome pulled down 6 rebounds with 3 steals.
Oskaloosa was led by 18 points from Pfau, who also grabbed 8 rebounds. Kelly added 16 points and 8 rebounds while Coffman pulled down 9 rebounds and senior Mallory Schmidt grabbed 7 boards.
The win improved McLouth’s record to 12-7 entering the regular season’s final week. The Bears fell to 10-6 but bounced back with a makeup shellacking of Wathena Saturday.
McLouth first-year coach Bob Good said his team benefitted from some close games this season, plus the players seem to step up their games in the second half.
“I told them (at halftime) we basically needed to get back on defense and be better at stopping their dribble penetration,” Good said. “Get back, stop the ball and rebound. I told them the shots would fall, we just need to keep doing what we’re doing on offense. They came on strong. Kylie came on late and the shots started falling. Morgan has grown up a lot this season and has gotten more physical with her game. Logan made a couple big shots for us. This team, for some reason, just has a different level of intensity in the fourth quarter. The game gets late and they get better. I like that demeanor.
“We’re working to get a home game that first round of substate. That’s our focus right now. We want to get down the road a little bit farther than they have (in recent seasons).”
Oskaloosa boys 44, McLouth 37
The boys game was a little bit of a mirror image of the girls’ contest as the Bulldogs established an early lead but couldn’t stop Bears junior guard Adam Bowser in the second half.
Bowser scored 17 second-half points as the Bears held on in the fourth quarter for the win. On the flip side, the Bears held McLouth leading scorer senior guard Cole Batman scoreless in the game to help their cause.
The teams got off to a slow start as it was 6-4 with 2:15 to play in the first quarter, but the Bulldogs finished the quarter on a 5-1 run as sophomore guard Shawn Dailey hit a 3-pointer to make it 11-5 McLouth entering the second quarter.
The Bears began to draw closer in the second quarter as senior Brandon Barnes hit a jumper to cut the lead to 11-9. Another Dailey 3-pointer helped the Bulldogs stay ahead but 2 Bowser free throws and a jumper from sophomore Adam Brien cut the lead back to 1 with 3:54 to play in the half. The scores sparked a 10-point Bears run as McLouth didn’t get back on the board until freshman Marc Walbridge hit a jumper with 1:20 left in the half to make the halftime score 19-16 Oskaloosa.
The Bulldogs hung around the lead in the third quarter as a Walbridge 3 tied the game at 22 with 3:55 left in the quarter. Bowser answered with a 3-pointer as the Bears were able to stretch the lead back to 5. Walbridge hit another 3-pointer with 37 seconds left to cut the Bear lead to 29-27 entering the fourth quarter.
The Bears couldn’t pull away from the Bulldogs until a Bowser 3-pointer and 2 Bowser free throws gave them a 6-point lead with just under 4 minutes left in the game. A 3-point play by McLouth sophomore Alen Kramer cut the lead back to 3 with 2:24 to play but the Bulldogs would get no closer. There was some late controversy as McLouth was in a must-foul situation late and junior guard Derek Wright was called for an intentional foul much to the dislike of Bulldog fans. The ensuing possession helped the Bears to a 6-pont lead and senior Adam Marshall got a key steal and hit a free throw with 14 seconds left to help the Bears to the 44-37 win.
Bowser added 7 rebounds to his 21 points to lead the Bears. Junior Braden McGinnis pulled down 7 rebounds as both teams had 24 rebounds in the game.
McLouth was led by 11 points from Walbridge and 9 points from Dailey. Sophomore forward Gavin Swearngin had 8 rebounds and junior forward Trevor Roberts had 6 rebounds.
Oskaloosa coach Rod Stottlemire said after several close losses this season, it was nice to see his team pull out a victory Friday.
“We’ve lost three overtime games and on a bank-in 3 at the buzzer, so any win we can pull off at the end is a good win,” Stottlemire said. “We’ve had a lot of close misses on the raod and the guys have worked real hard this season. McLouth is playing pretty well, so we’re happy to get the win. We’ve got to be more consistent on offense and step our free throws up a bit as well going into substate here.”
The Bears improved to 8-9 with the win while McLouth fell to 3-17. The Bears dropped their makeup game with Wathena Saturday to fall to 8-10.
County basketball update for Feb. 23
Tuesday’s games (Feb. 16)
Girls
JCN 68, Wathena 22
• North led, 33-5, after one quarter en route to the easy win to move to 16-1. Sophomore Jordan Kramer led North with 22 points while senior Sara Navinskey scored 12.
Perry-Lecompton 53, Turner 22
• A 20-7 third quarter helped the Kaws to the win as they improved to 10-6. Senior Jessica Christman led Perry-Lecompton with 15 points while junior Abbey Bays scored 13 points and senior Katie Volle scored 10.
McLouth 52, Horton 49 (OT)
• McLouth came back from a 4-point deficit entering the fourth quarter and then scored the only 3 points in overtime to improve to 11-7. Senior Missy Rome poured in 26 points for the Bulldogs while senior Kylie Shufflebarger scored 11.
Oskaloosa 52, Valley Falls 44
• The Bears used a 16-10 third quarter to build a 9-point lead and then held on to improve to 10-5. Valley Falls fell to 6-11. Sophomore Haley Pfau scored 22 for Oskaloosa while junior Hailey Kelly scored 17 for the Bears. The Dragons were led by 18 points from junior Abbey Kearney and 12 points from junior Morgan Streeter.
Hiawatha 58, Jefferson West 38
• West trailed by 21 at the half in falling to 7-11. Senior Taylor Jaimes led West with 10 points.
Boys
Wathena 66, JCN 51
• Wathena outscored North, 40-26, in the second half to pull away and drop the Chargers to 10-6. Junior Jeff Hale led North with 17 points.
Valley Falls 55, Oskaloosa 51 (OT)
• The Bears used a 26-8 second quarter to take an 8-point halftime lead but the Dragons stormed back to tie the game in the fourth quarter to force overtime. Valley Falls then outscored the Bears, 6-2, in the extra period to win and move to 9-8. Oskaloosa fell to 7-9. Valley Falls was led by 13 points from junior Alex Nottingham, 12 points from junior Brooks Glassel and 11 points from senior Mitchell Streeter. Oskaloosa was led by 20 points from junior Levi Wade, 16 points from senior Brandon Barnes and 10 points from junior Adam Bowser.
Hiawatha 63, Jefferson West 44
• West fell to 5-13 with the loss. Senior Alex Baker led the way with 13 points while senior Austin Siess scored 11.
Turner 57, Perry-Lecompton 49
• Turner pulled ahead for good in the third quarter as the Kaws fell to 2-15. Senior Shelby Politte led Perry-Lecompton with 21 points.
Horton 44, McLouth 39
• The Bulldogs led by 4 at the half but were outscored, 33-24, in the second half to fall to 3-16. Senior Cole Batman scored 14 points to lead McLouth.
Friday’s games (Feb. 19)
Boys
Immaculata 54, JCN 52
• North lost a late lead in falling to 10-7. Senior Nick Clark led the Chargers with 17 points.
Jackson Hts. 51, Valley Falls 44
• The Dragons were outscored, 27-13, in the second and third quarters as they dropped to 9-9. Senior Riley Bunde scored 18 points and Nottingham scored 15 points for the Dragons.
Oskaloosa 44, McLouth 37
• The Bears held on for the win to move to 8-9. McLouth fell to 3-17. Bowser scored 21 points to lead Oskaloosa while freshman Marc Walbridge led McLouth with 11 points.
Nemaha Valley 51, Jefferson West 40
• The Tigers fell to 5-14 with the loss. Baker led West with 10 points.
Piper 44, Perry-Lecompton 31
• The Kaws fell to 2-16.
Girls
JCN 52, Immaculata 44
• The Chargers pulled out the game in the fourth quarter to improve to 17-1. Kramer led the way with 19 points for North.
McLouth 56, Oskaloosa 52
• The Bulldogs came back from an 8-point halftime deficit to pull ahead and win in the fourth quarter to improve to 12-7. Oskaloosa dropped to 10-6. Pfau scored 18 while Kelly scored 16 for Oskaloosa. McLouth was led by 18 points from Rome, including 14 in the second half, 13 points from sophomore Morgan Drinnon and 11 points from sophomore Terri Stewart.
Piper 39, Perry-Lecompton 35
• The Kaws dropped to 10-7.
Valley Falls 38, Jackson Hts. 29
• The Dragons outscored the Cobras, 21-11, in the second half to improve to 7-11. Senior Bailey Sherretts scored 13 points and Kearney scored 12 in the win for Valley Falls.
Saturday’s games (Feb. 20)
Boys
Wathena 61, Oskaloosa 43
• The Bears trailed by 12 at the half and Wathena pulled away for the win to drop Oskaloosa to 8-10. Bowser led the Bears with 16 points.
Girls
Oskaloosa 65, Wathena 35
• The Bears improved to 11-6 as they outscored the Wildcats, 33-8, in the second half. Kelly scored 25 points and Pfau scored 20 in the win.
Girls
JCN 68, Wathena 22
• North led, 33-5, after one quarter en route to the easy win to move to 16-1. Sophomore Jordan Kramer led North with 22 points while senior Sara Navinskey scored 12.
Perry-Lecompton 53, Turner 22
• A 20-7 third quarter helped the Kaws to the win as they improved to 10-6. Senior Jessica Christman led Perry-Lecompton with 15 points while junior Abbey Bays scored 13 points and senior Katie Volle scored 10.
McLouth 52, Horton 49 (OT)
• McLouth came back from a 4-point deficit entering the fourth quarter and then scored the only 3 points in overtime to improve to 11-7. Senior Missy Rome poured in 26 points for the Bulldogs while senior Kylie Shufflebarger scored 11.
Oskaloosa 52, Valley Falls 44
• The Bears used a 16-10 third quarter to build a 9-point lead and then held on to improve to 10-5. Valley Falls fell to 6-11. Sophomore Haley Pfau scored 22 for Oskaloosa while junior Hailey Kelly scored 17 for the Bears. The Dragons were led by 18 points from junior Abbey Kearney and 12 points from junior Morgan Streeter.
Hiawatha 58, Jefferson West 38
• West trailed by 21 at the half in falling to 7-11. Senior Taylor Jaimes led West with 10 points.
Boys
Wathena 66, JCN 51
• Wathena outscored North, 40-26, in the second half to pull away and drop the Chargers to 10-6. Junior Jeff Hale led North with 17 points.
Valley Falls 55, Oskaloosa 51 (OT)
• The Bears used a 26-8 second quarter to take an 8-point halftime lead but the Dragons stormed back to tie the game in the fourth quarter to force overtime. Valley Falls then outscored the Bears, 6-2, in the extra period to win and move to 9-8. Oskaloosa fell to 7-9. Valley Falls was led by 13 points from junior Alex Nottingham, 12 points from junior Brooks Glassel and 11 points from senior Mitchell Streeter. Oskaloosa was led by 20 points from junior Levi Wade, 16 points from senior Brandon Barnes and 10 points from junior Adam Bowser.
Hiawatha 63, Jefferson West 44
• West fell to 5-13 with the loss. Senior Alex Baker led the way with 13 points while senior Austin Siess scored 11.
Turner 57, Perry-Lecompton 49
• Turner pulled ahead for good in the third quarter as the Kaws fell to 2-15. Senior Shelby Politte led Perry-Lecompton with 21 points.
Horton 44, McLouth 39
• The Bulldogs led by 4 at the half but were outscored, 33-24, in the second half to fall to 3-16. Senior Cole Batman scored 14 points to lead McLouth.
Friday’s games (Feb. 19)
Boys
Immaculata 54, JCN 52
• North lost a late lead in falling to 10-7. Senior Nick Clark led the Chargers with 17 points.
Jackson Hts. 51, Valley Falls 44
• The Dragons were outscored, 27-13, in the second and third quarters as they dropped to 9-9. Senior Riley Bunde scored 18 points and Nottingham scored 15 points for the Dragons.
Oskaloosa 44, McLouth 37
• The Bears held on for the win to move to 8-9. McLouth fell to 3-17. Bowser scored 21 points to lead Oskaloosa while freshman Marc Walbridge led McLouth with 11 points.
Nemaha Valley 51, Jefferson West 40
• The Tigers fell to 5-14 with the loss. Baker led West with 10 points.
Piper 44, Perry-Lecompton 31
• The Kaws fell to 2-16.
Girls
JCN 52, Immaculata 44
• The Chargers pulled out the game in the fourth quarter to improve to 17-1. Kramer led the way with 19 points for North.
McLouth 56, Oskaloosa 52
• The Bulldogs came back from an 8-point halftime deficit to pull ahead and win in the fourth quarter to improve to 12-7. Oskaloosa dropped to 10-6. Pfau scored 18 while Kelly scored 16 for Oskaloosa. McLouth was led by 18 points from Rome, including 14 in the second half, 13 points from sophomore Morgan Drinnon and 11 points from sophomore Terri Stewart.
Piper 39, Perry-Lecompton 35
• The Kaws dropped to 10-7.
Valley Falls 38, Jackson Hts. 29
• The Dragons outscored the Cobras, 21-11, in the second half to improve to 7-11. Senior Bailey Sherretts scored 13 points and Kearney scored 12 in the win for Valley Falls.
Saturday’s games (Feb. 20)
Boys
Wathena 61, Oskaloosa 43
• The Bears trailed by 12 at the half and Wathena pulled away for the win to drop Oskaloosa to 8-10. Bowser led the Bears with 16 points.
Girls
Oskaloosa 65, Wathena 35
• The Bears improved to 11-6 as they outscored the Wildcats, 33-8, in the second half. Kelly scored 25 points and Pfau scored 20 in the win.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Basketball update for Feb. 2
Tuesday’s games (Jan. 26)
Girls
Santa Fe Trail 52, Jefferson West 32
• West fell to 4-8. Senior BriAnna Ploude led the Tigers with 12 points.
JCN Tourney
First round
JCN 64, Atchison 33
• The Chargers improved to 9-1 as they built a 29-7 lead after a quarter and coasted from there. Sophomore Jordan Kramer led JCN with 18 points while seniors Mallory GrandPre and Sara Navinskey scored 16 points each.
Perry-Lecompton 38, McLouth 37
• The Kaws had a 6-point halftime lead and held on to take a narrow win and move to 7-1. McLouth fell to 6-5. Senior Katie Volle led the Kaws with 18 points while the Bulldogs were led by 12 points from senior Kylie Shufflebarger.
Oskaloosa 56, Maranatha 40
• The Bears took a 20-point halftime lead and didn’t look back in moving to 7-2. Sophomore Haley Pfau led the Bears with 18 points as 10 different Bears logged points.
ACCHS 43, Valley Falls 29
• The Dragons fell to 4-5. Junior Abbey Kearney led Valley Falls with 16 points.
Boys
Perry-Lecompton 67, Oskaloosa 51
• The Kaws built a 7-point halftime lead and pulled away in the second half to improve to 2-8. Oskaloosa fell to 6-6. Senior Shelby Politte scored 24 for the Kaws while senior Logan Hurd scored 16 and senior Brad Phillips added 11. The Bears were led by 22 points from junior Adam Bowser and 11 points each from senior Brandon Barnes and junior Levi Wade.
Santa Fe Trail 65, Jefferson West 50
• West fell to 4-8. Freshman Cory Brown scored 12 points and junior Dillon Roy added 11 for West.
Thursday’s games (Jan. 28)
Boys
ACCHS 50, JCN 46
• North suffered its second loss in six days to the Tigers but made this one close before falling to 7-4. Junior Jeff Hale and senior Nick Clark led JCN with 10 points each.
Friday’s games (Jan. 29)
Boys
Bishop Ward 44, Perry-Lecompton 42
• The Kaws fell to 2-9.
McLouth 55, KC East Christian 26
• The Bulldogs led by 15 at the half and put the game away in the third quarter to improve to 3-11. Sophomore Shawn Dailey led the way with 14 points while junior Trevor Roberts scored 12 and senior Cole Batman scored 11.
Girls
JCN Tourney
Semifinals
JCN 47, ACCHS 40
• The Chargers defeated the Tigers for the second time in eight days as they pulled away in the fourth quarter to improve to 10-1. Kramer scored 15 for North while junior Katie Noll scored 12 points and Navinsky added 10 points.
Perry-Lecompton 37, Oskaloosa 35
• The Kaws defeated Oskaloosa for the second time this season as they built a 7-point halftime lead and then held on in the second half to move to 8-1. Oskaloosa dropped to 7-3. Senior Jessica Christman led the Kaws with 13 points. Junior Hailey Kelly led Oskaloosa with 12 points.
Consolation semis
McLouth 37, Maranatha 35
• McLouth led, 10-2, after a quarter and had to hold on the rest of the way to improve to 7-5. Shufflebarger and senior Missy Rome scored 14 points each to lead the Bulldogs.
Atchison 44, Valley Falls 42
• The Dragons led by 4 at the half but couldn’t hold on in the fourth quarter to fall to 4-6. Kearney scored 14 points and senior Bethany Myers scored 12 points in the loss for Valley Falls.
Saturday’s games (Jan. 30)
Girls
JCN Tourney
Championship
JCN 49, Perry-Lecompton 44 (OT)
• North didn’t lead in the game until overtime after coming back from a 9-point deficit entering the fourth quarter to force the extra period. The Chargers improved to 11-1 while the Kaws fell to 8-2 on the season. Kramer scored 17 points and Navinskey scored 11, including the game-tying basket with only seconds left in regulation. Christman led the Kaws with 15 points while junior Abbey Bays and Volle scored 9 each.
Third place
ACCHS 44, Oskaloosa 34
• The Bears were down by 10 after one quarter and couldn’t come back in the second half to fall to 7-4. Kelly led the Bears with 11 points while Pfau and sophomore Rachel Schmanke scored 9 each.
Fifth place
McLouth 43, Atchison 26
• The Bulldogs built a 10-point halftime lead and withstood an early Atchison run in the second half before pulling away to move to 8-5. Rome scored 15 points, sophomore Terri Stewart scored 12 points and Shufflebarger scored 11 in the win.
Seventh place
Valley Falls 46, Maranatha 37
• The Dragons led by 3 at the half and pulled away in the fourth quarter to improve to 5-6. Sophomore Macie Herrig led the way for the Dragons with 13 points.
Girls
Santa Fe Trail 52, Jefferson West 32
• West fell to 4-8. Senior BriAnna Ploude led the Tigers with 12 points.
JCN Tourney
First round
JCN 64, Atchison 33
• The Chargers improved to 9-1 as they built a 29-7 lead after a quarter and coasted from there. Sophomore Jordan Kramer led JCN with 18 points while seniors Mallory GrandPre and Sara Navinskey scored 16 points each.
Perry-Lecompton 38, McLouth 37
• The Kaws had a 6-point halftime lead and held on to take a narrow win and move to 7-1. McLouth fell to 6-5. Senior Katie Volle led the Kaws with 18 points while the Bulldogs were led by 12 points from senior Kylie Shufflebarger.
Oskaloosa 56, Maranatha 40
• The Bears took a 20-point halftime lead and didn’t look back in moving to 7-2. Sophomore Haley Pfau led the Bears with 18 points as 10 different Bears logged points.
ACCHS 43, Valley Falls 29
• The Dragons fell to 4-5. Junior Abbey Kearney led Valley Falls with 16 points.
Boys
Perry-Lecompton 67, Oskaloosa 51
• The Kaws built a 7-point halftime lead and pulled away in the second half to improve to 2-8. Oskaloosa fell to 6-6. Senior Shelby Politte scored 24 for the Kaws while senior Logan Hurd scored 16 and senior Brad Phillips added 11. The Bears were led by 22 points from junior Adam Bowser and 11 points each from senior Brandon Barnes and junior Levi Wade.
Santa Fe Trail 65, Jefferson West 50
• West fell to 4-8. Freshman Cory Brown scored 12 points and junior Dillon Roy added 11 for West.
Thursday’s games (Jan. 28)
Boys
ACCHS 50, JCN 46
• North suffered its second loss in six days to the Tigers but made this one close before falling to 7-4. Junior Jeff Hale and senior Nick Clark led JCN with 10 points each.
Friday’s games (Jan. 29)
Boys
Bishop Ward 44, Perry-Lecompton 42
• The Kaws fell to 2-9.
McLouth 55, KC East Christian 26
• The Bulldogs led by 15 at the half and put the game away in the third quarter to improve to 3-11. Sophomore Shawn Dailey led the way with 14 points while junior Trevor Roberts scored 12 and senior Cole Batman scored 11.
Girls
JCN Tourney
Semifinals
JCN 47, ACCHS 40
• The Chargers defeated the Tigers for the second time in eight days as they pulled away in the fourth quarter to improve to 10-1. Kramer scored 15 for North while junior Katie Noll scored 12 points and Navinsky added 10 points.
Perry-Lecompton 37, Oskaloosa 35
• The Kaws defeated Oskaloosa for the second time this season as they built a 7-point halftime lead and then held on in the second half to move to 8-1. Oskaloosa dropped to 7-3. Senior Jessica Christman led the Kaws with 13 points. Junior Hailey Kelly led Oskaloosa with 12 points.
Consolation semis
McLouth 37, Maranatha 35
• McLouth led, 10-2, after a quarter and had to hold on the rest of the way to improve to 7-5. Shufflebarger and senior Missy Rome scored 14 points each to lead the Bulldogs.
Atchison 44, Valley Falls 42
• The Dragons led by 4 at the half but couldn’t hold on in the fourth quarter to fall to 4-6. Kearney scored 14 points and senior Bethany Myers scored 12 points in the loss for Valley Falls.
Saturday’s games (Jan. 30)
Girls
JCN Tourney
Championship
JCN 49, Perry-Lecompton 44 (OT)
• North didn’t lead in the game until overtime after coming back from a 9-point deficit entering the fourth quarter to force the extra period. The Chargers improved to 11-1 while the Kaws fell to 8-2 on the season. Kramer scored 17 points and Navinskey scored 11, including the game-tying basket with only seconds left in regulation. Christman led the Kaws with 15 points while junior Abbey Bays and Volle scored 9 each.
Third place
ACCHS 44, Oskaloosa 34
• The Bears were down by 10 after one quarter and couldn’t come back in the second half to fall to 7-4. Kelly led the Bears with 11 points while Pfau and sophomore Rachel Schmanke scored 9 each.
Fifth place
McLouth 43, Atchison 26
• The Bulldogs built a 10-point halftime lead and withstood an early Atchison run in the second half before pulling away to move to 8-5. Rome scored 15 points, sophomore Terri Stewart scored 12 points and Shufflebarger scored 11 in the win.
Seventh place
Valley Falls 46, Maranatha 37
• The Dragons led by 3 at the half and pulled away in the fourth quarter to improve to 5-6. Sophomore Macie Herrig led the way for the Dragons with 13 points.
North defeats Kaws in epic tourney finale
It took Jefferson County North more than 32 minutes of gameplay to finally grab the lead in the title game of the Chargers’ own tournament Saturday in Winchester and it took a couple clutch plays to help North hold off a feisty Perry-Lecompton squad for a 49-44 overtime victory.
The win was more proof of a Charger team that, as coach Steve Noll put it, has a never-say-die mentality. Meanwhile on the other side, the Kaws continued the best basketball story in the county this season in a turnaround under second-year coach Justin Mayer. Despite the loss, the Kaws sat at 8-2 after the game. The Kaw girls last won 8 games in the 2000-01 season when they finished 8-13. They have only won 7 games one time since that season.
JCN earned a trip to the title game with wins over Atchison and ACCHS in the quarterfinals and semifinals. Perry-Lecompton took down McLouth and Oskaloosa in narrow wins to qualify for the tourney title game.
The Kaws held the momentum for the vast majority of the game with the Chargers but the keys to the Charger win were a resurgence of rebounding by North after the Chargers were outrebounded, 18-13, in the first half, and 22 Kaw turnovers compared to only 12 for the Chargers. At game’s end the Chargers had 37 rebounds to Perry-Lecompton’s 38. A big shot by North senior Sara Navinskey to force overtime also helped the Chargers’ cause.
Perry-Lecompton took control from the opening tip as junior guard Abbey Bays scored off an offensive rebound and the Kaws built a 7-1 lead midway through the quarter. North got its first field goal of the game on a Navinskey jumper with 3:40 to play in the opening quarter and got the game tied at 7 with just over a minute left in the period. A free throw by Kaws junior Taylor Akagi gave the Kaws an 8-7 edge entering the second quarter.
The game was tied at three points in the second quarter until Perry-Lecompton regained control with a 7-point run to force a North timeout with 2:31 left in the half. The Kaws had the ball and a chance to extend the lead but North sophomore guard Jordan Kramer came up with two key steals that were converted into a layup and then two free throws by senior forward Mallory GrandPre to cut the lead to 3 at 19-16 Kaws with 51 seconds left in the half. Kaws senior Katherine Frye added a free throw to give Perry-Lecompton a 20-16 halftime lead.
The Chargers cut the lead to 2 early in the third quarter but the Kaws churned out another 7-point run in a 90-second stretch of game time. Sophomore guard Natasha Carver got it started with a 3-pointer, senior forward Katie Volle added two free throws and Bays hit a jumper to make it 31-22 Kaws, which would be the score entering the fourth quarter.
JCN scored the first 5 points of the final quarter to get back in the game. Kramer scored off an offensive rebound on a missed GrandPre free throw and then hit a jumper on North’s next possession to cut the lead to 31-27. Kaws senior Jessica Christman scored on a short jumper but a Kramer 3 would cut the lead to 33-31 Kaws with 5:07 to go in the game. The Kaws were up 4 and had a couple chances to stretch the lead but were unable. Another Christman jumper with 2:10 to play kept the lead at 4 and the Kaws again got multiple chances to extend the lead but could not.
The Kaws still held the 4-point lead with 1:02 to play, however. GrandPre hit 1 of 2 free throws with 44 seconds to play but, for a third consecutive time, the Kaws missed the front end of a 1-and-1 free throw set and GrandPre pulled down the rebound. Kaws senior guard Katie Hirsch got a key steal with 33 seconds left and hit 1 of 2 free throws to make it 38-34 Kaws. JCN junior Katie Noll scored off an offensive rebound and the Chargers took a timeout with 23 seconds left.
The Kaws made a key turnover on their next possession and, after another North timeout, Kramer and Navinskey executed a well-timed inbounds play with Navinskey scoring on a layup of Kramer’s inbounds pass. Kramer fouled Bays with 15 seconds left and the Perry-Lecompton junior hit both free throws to give the Kaws a 40-38 lead. From there, North had one more chance and, with time winding down, Navinskey threw up a shot from near the top of the key and it hit its mark to tie the game and force overtime.
North was still looking for its first lead of the game entering the extra stanza and got it as Kramer scored on a layup off the tip and was fouled. Hirsch hit 1 of 2 free throws on Perry-Lecompton’s next possession to cut the lead to 1 and, after a GrandPre short jumper for her first field goal of the game, Bays hit a clutch 3-pointer to tie the game at 44. North was able to take a 1-point lead on a GrandPre free throw and a traveling call on the Kaws gave the Chargers an opening. Navinskey hit 2 free throws to make the lead 3, but then missed both free throws after pulling down a defensive rebound and getting fouled. Kramer came down with a big offensive rebound on the second missed free throw but traveled, and then GrandPre made a key steal with time running under 20 seconds. Kramer missed 2 free throws with 10 seconds left but GrandPre got perhaps the biggest rebound of the game and put it back in for 2 points to secure the 49-44 North win.
North improved to 11-1 with the win as Kramer scored 17 points with 7 rebounds and 5 steals and Navinskey scored 11 points with 7 rebounds. GrandPre scored 9 points with 9 rebounds and 7 steals and Katie Noll grabbed 7 rebounds.
Perry-Lecompton fell to 8-2 and was led by 15 points and 11 rebounds from Christman and 9 points each from Bays and Volle. Bays added 6 rebounds and 3 steals while Volle grabbed 5 rebounds. Two Kaw starters fouled out late in the game to help North’s chances.
North coach Noll said he would take the win and tourney title, although he credited Perry-Lecompton for giving the Chargers all they could handle.
“They played well,” a relieved Noll said after the game. “They really gave us a heck of a game. We weren’t able to do what we wanted to do. I think Sara’s shot there at the end was maybe 10 feet, 1 inch, it was that close to the rim. The girls just kept plugging away.”
Noll credited the team’s full-court pressure with helping fuel the fourth-quarter comeback.
“We did go with a little more full court man-to-man defense, and we haven’t been able to run a lot of man defense recently,” he said. “Every time it looked like shots were there, they were in our face. We finally got to where we could move the ball and got fouled a couple times there. The girls have faced a lot of adversity at times this season and they keep plugging away. Hopefully we can build on this. We’ve got to work on shooting free throws better and pick it up on defense. We need to have offense that runs based on initiating it by good defense.”
ACCHS 44,
Oskaloosa 34 (third)
The third-place game of the JCN tourney went to ACCHS as the Tigers took control in the first quarter and fended the Bears off the rest of the game to drop Oskaloosa to 7-4.
The Bears had defeated Maranatha in the opening round before falling to Perry-Lecompton in Friday’s semifinals. ACCHS had defeated Valley Falls and then lost to JCN in the tourney semifinals.
The game was tied at 3 midway through the first quarter before ACCHS ended the period on a 12-2 run, including scoring the last 9 points of the quarter. Sophomore forward Tara Ellerman and sophomore guard Megan Vanderweide fueled the run as Ellerman scored 4 points and Vanderweide drilled two 3-pointers to help ACCHS to a 15-5 lead entering the second quarter.
Ellerman would continue to be a problem for the Bears as ACCHS spent most of the quarter holding off the Bears before extending the lead to 11 at the half. Ellerman finished the half with 11 points as a 3-point play midway through the quarter stretched the lead back to 9 and Ellerman scored the Tigers’ final 7 points of the half to make it 26-15 ACCHS.
Oskaloosa came out of the locker room firing in the second half as sophomore Haley Pfau started the scoring with a 3-pointer and would score the first 7 points of the half to cut the Tiger lead to 26-22. Ellerman notched another 3-point play to get ACCHS on the board and stymie the run. Oskaloosa wouldn’t go away, however, as junior guard Hailey Kelly scored the final 3 points of the quarter to trim the Tiger lead to 33-28 entering the fourth quarter.
The Tigers held Oskaloosa off the board in a key stretch of the final period as ACCHS went on a 6-0 run that extended the lead back to 11 points with 6:05 to play. Oskaloosa sophomore forward Rachel Schmanke got the Bears back on the board with 5:57 to play but the ACCHS lead would be too big to surmount. The Tiger bench salted away a 44-34 win.
Oskaloosa was led by 11 points from Kelly and 9 points each from Pfau and Schmanke. Pfau led the Bears with 4 rebounds. The Tigers controlled the boards with a 29-15 advantage.
ACCHS was led by Ellerman’s 18 points and 11 rebounds while Vanderweide scored 11 points.
In other tourney action, McLouth defeated Atchison, 43-26, for fifth and Valley Falls defeated Maranatha, 46-37, for seventh.
The win was more proof of a Charger team that, as coach Steve Noll put it, has a never-say-die mentality. Meanwhile on the other side, the Kaws continued the best basketball story in the county this season in a turnaround under second-year coach Justin Mayer. Despite the loss, the Kaws sat at 8-2 after the game. The Kaw girls last won 8 games in the 2000-01 season when they finished 8-13. They have only won 7 games one time since that season.
JCN earned a trip to the title game with wins over Atchison and ACCHS in the quarterfinals and semifinals. Perry-Lecompton took down McLouth and Oskaloosa in narrow wins to qualify for the tourney title game.
The Kaws held the momentum for the vast majority of the game with the Chargers but the keys to the Charger win were a resurgence of rebounding by North after the Chargers were outrebounded, 18-13, in the first half, and 22 Kaw turnovers compared to only 12 for the Chargers. At game’s end the Chargers had 37 rebounds to Perry-Lecompton’s 38. A big shot by North senior Sara Navinskey to force overtime also helped the Chargers’ cause.
Perry-Lecompton took control from the opening tip as junior guard Abbey Bays scored off an offensive rebound and the Kaws built a 7-1 lead midway through the quarter. North got its first field goal of the game on a Navinskey jumper with 3:40 to play in the opening quarter and got the game tied at 7 with just over a minute left in the period. A free throw by Kaws junior Taylor Akagi gave the Kaws an 8-7 edge entering the second quarter.
The game was tied at three points in the second quarter until Perry-Lecompton regained control with a 7-point run to force a North timeout with 2:31 left in the half. The Kaws had the ball and a chance to extend the lead but North sophomore guard Jordan Kramer came up with two key steals that were converted into a layup and then two free throws by senior forward Mallory GrandPre to cut the lead to 3 at 19-16 Kaws with 51 seconds left in the half. Kaws senior Katherine Frye added a free throw to give Perry-Lecompton a 20-16 halftime lead.
The Chargers cut the lead to 2 early in the third quarter but the Kaws churned out another 7-point run in a 90-second stretch of game time. Sophomore guard Natasha Carver got it started with a 3-pointer, senior forward Katie Volle added two free throws and Bays hit a jumper to make it 31-22 Kaws, which would be the score entering the fourth quarter.
JCN scored the first 5 points of the final quarter to get back in the game. Kramer scored off an offensive rebound on a missed GrandPre free throw and then hit a jumper on North’s next possession to cut the lead to 31-27. Kaws senior Jessica Christman scored on a short jumper but a Kramer 3 would cut the lead to 33-31 Kaws with 5:07 to go in the game. The Kaws were up 4 and had a couple chances to stretch the lead but were unable. Another Christman jumper with 2:10 to play kept the lead at 4 and the Kaws again got multiple chances to extend the lead but could not.
The Kaws still held the 4-point lead with 1:02 to play, however. GrandPre hit 1 of 2 free throws with 44 seconds to play but, for a third consecutive time, the Kaws missed the front end of a 1-and-1 free throw set and GrandPre pulled down the rebound. Kaws senior guard Katie Hirsch got a key steal with 33 seconds left and hit 1 of 2 free throws to make it 38-34 Kaws. JCN junior Katie Noll scored off an offensive rebound and the Chargers took a timeout with 23 seconds left.
The Kaws made a key turnover on their next possession and, after another North timeout, Kramer and Navinskey executed a well-timed inbounds play with Navinskey scoring on a layup of Kramer’s inbounds pass. Kramer fouled Bays with 15 seconds left and the Perry-Lecompton junior hit both free throws to give the Kaws a 40-38 lead. From there, North had one more chance and, with time winding down, Navinskey threw up a shot from near the top of the key and it hit its mark to tie the game and force overtime.
North was still looking for its first lead of the game entering the extra stanza and got it as Kramer scored on a layup off the tip and was fouled. Hirsch hit 1 of 2 free throws on Perry-Lecompton’s next possession to cut the lead to 1 and, after a GrandPre short jumper for her first field goal of the game, Bays hit a clutch 3-pointer to tie the game at 44. North was able to take a 1-point lead on a GrandPre free throw and a traveling call on the Kaws gave the Chargers an opening. Navinskey hit 2 free throws to make the lead 3, but then missed both free throws after pulling down a defensive rebound and getting fouled. Kramer came down with a big offensive rebound on the second missed free throw but traveled, and then GrandPre made a key steal with time running under 20 seconds. Kramer missed 2 free throws with 10 seconds left but GrandPre got perhaps the biggest rebound of the game and put it back in for 2 points to secure the 49-44 North win.
North improved to 11-1 with the win as Kramer scored 17 points with 7 rebounds and 5 steals and Navinskey scored 11 points with 7 rebounds. GrandPre scored 9 points with 9 rebounds and 7 steals and Katie Noll grabbed 7 rebounds.
Perry-Lecompton fell to 8-2 and was led by 15 points and 11 rebounds from Christman and 9 points each from Bays and Volle. Bays added 6 rebounds and 3 steals while Volle grabbed 5 rebounds. Two Kaw starters fouled out late in the game to help North’s chances.
North coach Noll said he would take the win and tourney title, although he credited Perry-Lecompton for giving the Chargers all they could handle.
“They played well,” a relieved Noll said after the game. “They really gave us a heck of a game. We weren’t able to do what we wanted to do. I think Sara’s shot there at the end was maybe 10 feet, 1 inch, it was that close to the rim. The girls just kept plugging away.”
Noll credited the team’s full-court pressure with helping fuel the fourth-quarter comeback.
“We did go with a little more full court man-to-man defense, and we haven’t been able to run a lot of man defense recently,” he said. “Every time it looked like shots were there, they were in our face. We finally got to where we could move the ball and got fouled a couple times there. The girls have faced a lot of adversity at times this season and they keep plugging away. Hopefully we can build on this. We’ve got to work on shooting free throws better and pick it up on defense. We need to have offense that runs based on initiating it by good defense.”
ACCHS 44,
Oskaloosa 34 (third)
The third-place game of the JCN tourney went to ACCHS as the Tigers took control in the first quarter and fended the Bears off the rest of the game to drop Oskaloosa to 7-4.
The Bears had defeated Maranatha in the opening round before falling to Perry-Lecompton in Friday’s semifinals. ACCHS had defeated Valley Falls and then lost to JCN in the tourney semifinals.
The game was tied at 3 midway through the first quarter before ACCHS ended the period on a 12-2 run, including scoring the last 9 points of the quarter. Sophomore forward Tara Ellerman and sophomore guard Megan Vanderweide fueled the run as Ellerman scored 4 points and Vanderweide drilled two 3-pointers to help ACCHS to a 15-5 lead entering the second quarter.
Ellerman would continue to be a problem for the Bears as ACCHS spent most of the quarter holding off the Bears before extending the lead to 11 at the half. Ellerman finished the half with 11 points as a 3-point play midway through the quarter stretched the lead back to 9 and Ellerman scored the Tigers’ final 7 points of the half to make it 26-15 ACCHS.
Oskaloosa came out of the locker room firing in the second half as sophomore Haley Pfau started the scoring with a 3-pointer and would score the first 7 points of the half to cut the Tiger lead to 26-22. Ellerman notched another 3-point play to get ACCHS on the board and stymie the run. Oskaloosa wouldn’t go away, however, as junior guard Hailey Kelly scored the final 3 points of the quarter to trim the Tiger lead to 33-28 entering the fourth quarter.
The Tigers held Oskaloosa off the board in a key stretch of the final period as ACCHS went on a 6-0 run that extended the lead back to 11 points with 6:05 to play. Oskaloosa sophomore forward Rachel Schmanke got the Bears back on the board with 5:57 to play but the ACCHS lead would be too big to surmount. The Tiger bench salted away a 44-34 win.
Oskaloosa was led by 11 points from Kelly and 9 points each from Pfau and Schmanke. Pfau led the Bears with 4 rebounds. The Tigers controlled the boards with a 29-15 advantage.
ACCHS was led by Ellerman’s 18 points and 11 rebounds while Vanderweide scored 11 points.
In other tourney action, McLouth defeated Atchison, 43-26, for fifth and Valley Falls defeated Maranatha, 46-37, for seventh.
ACCHS torches JCN for MIT title
Atchison County Community High School came out firing on all cylinders Saturday and it was much to the misfortune of Jefferson County North as the Tigers took home a 71-38 win in the title game of the McLouth Invitational Tournament.
ACCHS had advanced to the title game with double-digit victories over Valley Falls and Cair Paravel while JCN had made it an all-acronym final with a narrow win over Maranatha and then an 18-point win over Bishop Seabury in the varsity boys’ tourney.
The first quarter would set the tone for the game as the Tigers’ offense and misfiring North offense all but put the game out of reach. Two 3-pointers by ACCHS sophomore Austin Eckert gave the Tigers a 6-0 lead and forced North’s first timeout with 5:32 to play in the quarter. North sophomore Dominic Kingman got the Chargers on the board shortly thereafter but it would be North’s only score of the quarter. Eckert added two more 3-pointers before the dust settled on the quarter with an 18-2 Tigers lead.
Eckert answered a score by North sophomore Billy Noll with another 3-pointer to start the second quarter and ACCHS picked up where it left off after the first quarter. The lead reached 20 points a couple minutes of game time later and the Tigers finished the half on a 12-3 run to take a 39-10 lead into halftime.
A North comeback was highly improbable at that point, but the Chargers scored the first 4 points of the second half before the ACCHS offense kicked back into gear to stretch the lead to 34 at 50-16 midway through the quarter. The lead was 36 going into the fourth quarter as Tigers coach John Wetig cleared his bench for the fourth quarter as ACCHS won, 71-38.
After the early onslaught, Eckert, who was later named tourney most valuable player, finished with 17 points as he only scored 2 in the second half. Junior Ryan Martin also led the way for the Tigers with 19 points and 5 rebounds.
North was led by 10 points from junior Jeff Hale. Kingman scored 8 points and junior Spencer Wentz pulled down 8 rebounds in the loss. Both teams had 27 rebounds while North had 21 turnovers to only 14 for ACCHS.
JCN coach Jim Brickell said the result wasn’t what his team had hoped for after good wins in the quarterfinals and semifinals. One key blow to the Chargers’ chances came when sophomore Dalton Minor suffered a leg injury in the win over Bishop Seabury.
“It was a good week,” Brickell said. “We just didn’t come to play tonight, and they did. I thought it’d be a ball game, but we didn’t do what I had planned to do. We wanted to shut (Martin and Eckert) off, and obviously that didn’t happen. And we didn’t do our offensive game plan either. We’ve got to learn to be a lot more patient and not take so many treys. Things just snowballed on us tonight. But I give credit to them, Effingham played a heck of a ball game. We don’t see quality basketball teams like that enough. You learn a whole different kind of basketball playing good teams. ACCHS played hard and we got outhustled. Usually the team that hustles harder gets the win.”
Valley Falls fifth,
Oskaloosa seventh
The best any other county team could do after JCN’s second place finish was fifth, and Valley Falls got the job done with a double-digit win over Maranatha.
The Dragons had defeated county rival Oskaloosa in Friday’s consolation semifinals while Maranatha defeated McLouth to move into the fifth-place game.
Maranatha actually took early control of the game with a 5-0 lead before Valley Falls surged back with a 9-2 run to end the quarter. Senior Mitchell Streeter nailed a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 1 and senior Chase Lederer and junior Brooks Glassel scored the last 4 points of the quarter to give the Dragons a 12-9 lead.
The Dragons stretched the lead to 6 at halftime and then scored the first 6 points of the second half to extend the lead to 12 at 26-14. The lead held at 32-22 entering the final quarter.
Maranatha was able to get back within 7 points in the early fourth quarter but Glassel hit a 3-pointer to stretch it back to a 10-point Dragon lead. That was as close as Maranatha would get as the Dragons finished off the 43-31 victory.
Nottingham scored 15 points and Glassel scored 12 for the Dragons in the win. Valley Falls improved to 5-6 with the win.
After falling in the consolation semis Friday, Oskaloosa and McLouth were left to duel for seventh place on Saturday and the Bears came away with a 41-35 win.
Oskaloosa was led by 14 points from junior Adam Bowser while McLouth was led by 10 points each from junior Trevor Roberts and sophomore Gavin Swearngin. Oskaloosa improved to 6-5 while McLouth fell to 2-11.
In Saturday’s other game, Bishop Seabury defeated Cair Paravel, 61-46, for third place.
ACCHS had advanced to the title game with double-digit victories over Valley Falls and Cair Paravel while JCN had made it an all-acronym final with a narrow win over Maranatha and then an 18-point win over Bishop Seabury in the varsity boys’ tourney.
The first quarter would set the tone for the game as the Tigers’ offense and misfiring North offense all but put the game out of reach. Two 3-pointers by ACCHS sophomore Austin Eckert gave the Tigers a 6-0 lead and forced North’s first timeout with 5:32 to play in the quarter. North sophomore Dominic Kingman got the Chargers on the board shortly thereafter but it would be North’s only score of the quarter. Eckert added two more 3-pointers before the dust settled on the quarter with an 18-2 Tigers lead.
Eckert answered a score by North sophomore Billy Noll with another 3-pointer to start the second quarter and ACCHS picked up where it left off after the first quarter. The lead reached 20 points a couple minutes of game time later and the Tigers finished the half on a 12-3 run to take a 39-10 lead into halftime.
A North comeback was highly improbable at that point, but the Chargers scored the first 4 points of the second half before the ACCHS offense kicked back into gear to stretch the lead to 34 at 50-16 midway through the quarter. The lead was 36 going into the fourth quarter as Tigers coach John Wetig cleared his bench for the fourth quarter as ACCHS won, 71-38.
After the early onslaught, Eckert, who was later named tourney most valuable player, finished with 17 points as he only scored 2 in the second half. Junior Ryan Martin also led the way for the Tigers with 19 points and 5 rebounds.
North was led by 10 points from junior Jeff Hale. Kingman scored 8 points and junior Spencer Wentz pulled down 8 rebounds in the loss. Both teams had 27 rebounds while North had 21 turnovers to only 14 for ACCHS.
JCN coach Jim Brickell said the result wasn’t what his team had hoped for after good wins in the quarterfinals and semifinals. One key blow to the Chargers’ chances came when sophomore Dalton Minor suffered a leg injury in the win over Bishop Seabury.
“It was a good week,” Brickell said. “We just didn’t come to play tonight, and they did. I thought it’d be a ball game, but we didn’t do what I had planned to do. We wanted to shut (Martin and Eckert) off, and obviously that didn’t happen. And we didn’t do our offensive game plan either. We’ve got to learn to be a lot more patient and not take so many treys. Things just snowballed on us tonight. But I give credit to them, Effingham played a heck of a ball game. We don’t see quality basketball teams like that enough. You learn a whole different kind of basketball playing good teams. ACCHS played hard and we got outhustled. Usually the team that hustles harder gets the win.”
Valley Falls fifth,
Oskaloosa seventh
The best any other county team could do after JCN’s second place finish was fifth, and Valley Falls got the job done with a double-digit win over Maranatha.
The Dragons had defeated county rival Oskaloosa in Friday’s consolation semifinals while Maranatha defeated McLouth to move into the fifth-place game.
Maranatha actually took early control of the game with a 5-0 lead before Valley Falls surged back with a 9-2 run to end the quarter. Senior Mitchell Streeter nailed a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 1 and senior Chase Lederer and junior Brooks Glassel scored the last 4 points of the quarter to give the Dragons a 12-9 lead.
The Dragons stretched the lead to 6 at halftime and then scored the first 6 points of the second half to extend the lead to 12 at 26-14. The lead held at 32-22 entering the final quarter.
Maranatha was able to get back within 7 points in the early fourth quarter but Glassel hit a 3-pointer to stretch it back to a 10-point Dragon lead. That was as close as Maranatha would get as the Dragons finished off the 43-31 victory.
Nottingham scored 15 points and Glassel scored 12 for the Dragons in the win. Valley Falls improved to 5-6 with the win.
After falling in the consolation semis Friday, Oskaloosa and McLouth were left to duel for seventh place on Saturday and the Bears came away with a 41-35 win.
Oskaloosa was led by 14 points from junior Adam Bowser while McLouth was led by 10 points each from junior Trevor Roberts and sophomore Gavin Swearngin. Oskaloosa improved to 6-5 while McLouth fell to 2-11.
In Saturday’s other game, Bishop Seabury defeated Cair Paravel, 61-46, for third place.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Dragon varsities split with Pleasant Ridge
Nearly 60 combined turnovers and more than 45 fouls made for a less-than-pretty 43-29 win for the Valley Falls varsity girls’ basketball team Friday over Pleasant Ridge, but the Dragons and coach Todd Gish will take the victory.
The win improved the Dragons’ record to 4-4 going into midseason tournament play. A big turnover advantage for Valley Falls offset a Rams rebounding advantage to help the Dragons get the win.
The Dragons kept the Rams off the board for the first couple minutes of the game en route to building a 10-3 lead. The 7-point advantage held at 12-5 Valley Falls entering the second quarter.
The Dragons pulled farther away in the second quarter as they ended the half on a 7-3 scoring spurt to hold a 21-11 halftime lead. Eleven first-quarter turnovers for the Rams ended up as a total of 20 for the first half to help fuel the deficit for Pleasant Ridge.
Valley Falls struggled in the early going of the second half as the Rams scored the first 5 points of the third quarter to cut the lead in half. The Dragons regained control, however, as junior guard Abbey Kearney scored off a baseline drive and sophomore Macie Herrig scored off a steal and was fouled to stretch the lead back to 9. Herrig missed the free throw but senior forward Bethany Myers grabbed the rebound and Herrig hit an open 3-pointer to make the lead 12 at 30-18 Dragons. The Dragons would score the final 9 points of the quarter all together to take a 32-18 lead into the fourth quarter.
Fouls helped draw out the final quarter of play as neither team got on the board again until less than six minutes were left in the game. Senior Bailey Sherretts finally broke the ice for Valley Falls with a short jumper with about five minutes left in the game to keep the lead at 14. That’s the way the game ended as the Dragons salted away the 43-29 win.
Dragons’ leading scorer Kearney wasn’t at the top of her game and played through foul trouble but still led the way for Valley Falls with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 9 steals. Herrig added 7 points, and Myers scored 7 points with 6 rebounds for the Dragons. Pleasant Ridge was led by 8 points from senior Holly Skaggs and 9 rebounds from junior Cassy Roberts. The Rams had 35 turnovers and 25 fouls compared to 21 turnovers and 21 fouls for the Dragons.
Gish said the win was good as several players had to step up and look to contribute more.
“It’s never a question of effort for us,” Gish said. “The girls work hard. We’ve been trying to execute more consistently. Tonight it was hard to get into a rhythm with all the foul calls. I’m trying to get them sold on running the offense and making the other team play defense. We did enough tonight to get the win.”
Ridge boys 56, Valley Falls 28
The Ram varsity boys jumped out to an early lead and didn’t look back in dropping the Dragons to 3-5 on the season.
The difference in the game wasn’t abundantly clear through some statistics as the Rams outrebounded the Dragons, 25-21, and forced 17 Dragon turnovers while committing 10. It was a consistent offensive attack that got the Rams the win.
The Dragons scored the first basket of the game but the Rams put up the next 10 points to take a solid lead with about three minutes left in the opening quarter. Dragons junior forward Brooks Glassel hit a short jumper to get Valley Falls back on the board with 2:40 left in the quarter, then scored off a steal and ended the quarter with a 3-pointer at the buzzer to keep the Dragons in the game down, 15-9, entering the second quarter.
Glassel started the second quarter with a 3-pointer but those would be his only points of the quarter as the Rams went on a 21-4 run from there to close out the half. Keying the run were two 3-pointers from Rams senior Matt Hager and two 3-point plays from senior Terell Jordan. The Rams scored the last 11 points of the half to take a 36-16 lead into halftime.
The Dragons cut the lead to 16 early in the second half but the Rams pulled back away to lead by 23 at 49-26 entering the fourth quarter. The junior varsities played a chunk of the fourth quarter as the Rams held on to a 56-28 win.
The Dragons were led by 14 points from Glassel and 7 points from junior Alex Nottingham. Senior Riley Bunde pulled down 7 rebounds.
The win improved the Dragons’ record to 4-4 going into midseason tournament play. A big turnover advantage for Valley Falls offset a Rams rebounding advantage to help the Dragons get the win.
The Dragons kept the Rams off the board for the first couple minutes of the game en route to building a 10-3 lead. The 7-point advantage held at 12-5 Valley Falls entering the second quarter.
The Dragons pulled farther away in the second quarter as they ended the half on a 7-3 scoring spurt to hold a 21-11 halftime lead. Eleven first-quarter turnovers for the Rams ended up as a total of 20 for the first half to help fuel the deficit for Pleasant Ridge.
Valley Falls struggled in the early going of the second half as the Rams scored the first 5 points of the third quarter to cut the lead in half. The Dragons regained control, however, as junior guard Abbey Kearney scored off a baseline drive and sophomore Macie Herrig scored off a steal and was fouled to stretch the lead back to 9. Herrig missed the free throw but senior forward Bethany Myers grabbed the rebound and Herrig hit an open 3-pointer to make the lead 12 at 30-18 Dragons. The Dragons would score the final 9 points of the quarter all together to take a 32-18 lead into the fourth quarter.
Fouls helped draw out the final quarter of play as neither team got on the board again until less than six minutes were left in the game. Senior Bailey Sherretts finally broke the ice for Valley Falls with a short jumper with about five minutes left in the game to keep the lead at 14. That’s the way the game ended as the Dragons salted away the 43-29 win.
Dragons’ leading scorer Kearney wasn’t at the top of her game and played through foul trouble but still led the way for Valley Falls with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 9 steals. Herrig added 7 points, and Myers scored 7 points with 6 rebounds for the Dragons. Pleasant Ridge was led by 8 points from senior Holly Skaggs and 9 rebounds from junior Cassy Roberts. The Rams had 35 turnovers and 25 fouls compared to 21 turnovers and 21 fouls for the Dragons.
Gish said the win was good as several players had to step up and look to contribute more.
“It’s never a question of effort for us,” Gish said. “The girls work hard. We’ve been trying to execute more consistently. Tonight it was hard to get into a rhythm with all the foul calls. I’m trying to get them sold on running the offense and making the other team play defense. We did enough tonight to get the win.”
Ridge boys 56, Valley Falls 28
The Ram varsity boys jumped out to an early lead and didn’t look back in dropping the Dragons to 3-5 on the season.
The difference in the game wasn’t abundantly clear through some statistics as the Rams outrebounded the Dragons, 25-21, and forced 17 Dragon turnovers while committing 10. It was a consistent offensive attack that got the Rams the win.
The Dragons scored the first basket of the game but the Rams put up the next 10 points to take a solid lead with about three minutes left in the opening quarter. Dragons junior forward Brooks Glassel hit a short jumper to get Valley Falls back on the board with 2:40 left in the quarter, then scored off a steal and ended the quarter with a 3-pointer at the buzzer to keep the Dragons in the game down, 15-9, entering the second quarter.
Glassel started the second quarter with a 3-pointer but those would be his only points of the quarter as the Rams went on a 21-4 run from there to close out the half. Keying the run were two 3-pointers from Rams senior Matt Hager and two 3-point plays from senior Terell Jordan. The Rams scored the last 11 points of the half to take a 36-16 lead into halftime.
The Dragons cut the lead to 16 early in the second half but the Rams pulled back away to lead by 23 at 49-26 entering the fourth quarter. The junior varsities played a chunk of the fourth quarter as the Rams held on to a 56-28 win.
The Dragons were led by 14 points from Glassel and 7 points from junior Alex Nottingham. Senior Riley Bunde pulled down 7 rebounds.
County basketball update for Jan. 19
Tuesday’s games (Jan. 12)
Girls
Oskaloosa 56, Jackson Heights 34
• The Bears improved to 5-1 overall with the road win. Four Bears were in double figures led by 13 points from sophomore Rachel Schmanke. Junior Hailey Kelly scored 11 and senior Kyra Coffman and sophomore Haley Pfau scored 10 each.
KC Christian 62, JCN 51
• The Chargers suffered their first regular-season loss since 2008 as KCC avenged a loss in the league tourney semifinals. JCN moved to 4-1. Sophomore Jordan Kramer scored 16 points for North while senior Mallory GrandPre scored 14 points.
Perry-Lecompton 38, Bonner Springs 36
• The Kaws improved to 3-1 with the win.
McLouth 60, Wathena 35
• The Bulldogs outscored Wathena, 37-17, in the second half to improve to 4-3. Senior Missy Rome led McLouth with 25 points while senior Kylie Shufflebarger scored 11 points.
Immaculata 43, Valley Falls 34
• A 9-1 first quarter and 17-6 third quarter did in the Dragons as they dropped to 3-4. Junior Abbey Kearney led the way for Valley Falls with 17 points. Sophomore Macie Herrig scored 9 points.
Jefferson West 40, Nemaha Valley 35
• West came back from a 5-point deficit entering the fourth quarter to win and move to 2-5. Senior BriAnna Ploude led West with 16 points.
Boys
Jackson Heights 66, Oskaloosa 31
• The Bears dropped to 5-2 as Heights led, 25-2, after one quarter and didn’t look back. Junior Adam Bowser scored 13 points and junior Levi Wade scored 10 in the loss.
KC Christian 53, JCN 37
• North dropped to 3-2. Sophomore Dalton Minor led the Chargers with 14 points.
Nemaha Valley 45, Jefferson West 44
• West fell to 3-4 as the Tigers squandered an 8-point lead starting the second quarter and a 5-point lead entering the fourth quarter. Junior Dillon Roy led West with 13 points and senior Alex Baker scored 10 points.
Wathena 51, McLouth 35
• The Bulldogs dropped to 2-6.
Bonner Springs 68, Perry-Lecompton 36
• The Kaws dropped to 0-5. Senior Shelby Politte scored 10 points to lead the Kaws.
Thursday’s games (Jan. 14)
Girls
JCN 51, McLouth 35
• North got back on the winning track in a makeup game versus McLouth. The Chargers improved to 5-1 while McLouth fell to 4-4. Kramer scored 24 points while GrandPre scored 15 for North. McLouth was led by 16 points from Rome.
Boys
JCN 41, McLouth 31
• North improved to 4-2 while McLouth fell to 2-7. North built a 17-point lead entering the final quarter before McLouth tightened it late. Minor scored 10 points to lead the Chargers. The Bulldogs were led by 13 points from sophomore Alen Kramer and 12 points from senior Cole Batman.
Friday’s games (Jan. 15)
Boys
Doniphan West 50, Oskaloosa 48
• The Bears dropped to 5-3.
JCN 47, Horton 42
• The Chargers held off Horton to improve to 5-2. Junior Jeff Hale led the way for North with 18 points.
Royal Valley 52, Jefferson West 50
• The Tigers dropped to 3-5 as Royal Valley came back from a 9-point halftime deficit to win. Baker scored 14 points while senior Adam Fechter scored 10 points in the loss.
Pleasant Ridge 56, Valley Falls 28
• The Dragons fell to 3-5. Junior Brooks Glassel scored 14 points to lead the Dragons.
Immaculata 65, McLouth 59 (2OT)
• The Bulldogs dropped to 2-8 as a tight game was decided in double overtime. Batman scored 20 points and junior Trevor Roberts added 13 points in the losing cause.
Santa Fe Trail 58, Perry-Lecompton 26
• The Kaws fell to 0-6. Senior Brad Phillips was the high scorer for Perry-Lecompton with 5 points.
Girls
Oskaloosa 57, Doniphan West 28
• The Bears improved to 6-1 overall as a 22-6 first quarter set the tone in the win. Pfau led the Bears with 23 points while Kelly poured in 21.
JCN 58, Horton 48
• North improved to 6-1 with the victory. Kramer paced the Chargers with 29 points and GrandPre scored 10 in the win for North.
Perry-Lecompton 47, Santa Fe Trail 31
• The Kaws improved to 4-1. Junior Abbey Bays, sophomore Natasha Carver and senior Jessica Christman scored 12 points each to lead the Kaws.
McLouth 76, Immaculata 71 (3OT)
• The Bulldogs lost a 6-point lead entering the fourth quarter but got the game won in triple overtime to improve to 5-4. Rome set a school single-game record with 39 points and Shufflebarger scored 14 points in the win.
Valley Falls 43, Pleasant Ridge 29
• The Dragons improved to 4-4 with the win. Kearney scored 16 points for the Dragons.
Jefferson West 36, Royal Valley 35
• The Tigers improved to 3-5.
Girls
Oskaloosa 56, Jackson Heights 34
• The Bears improved to 5-1 overall with the road win. Four Bears were in double figures led by 13 points from sophomore Rachel Schmanke. Junior Hailey Kelly scored 11 and senior Kyra Coffman and sophomore Haley Pfau scored 10 each.
KC Christian 62, JCN 51
• The Chargers suffered their first regular-season loss since 2008 as KCC avenged a loss in the league tourney semifinals. JCN moved to 4-1. Sophomore Jordan Kramer scored 16 points for North while senior Mallory GrandPre scored 14 points.
Perry-Lecompton 38, Bonner Springs 36
• The Kaws improved to 3-1 with the win.
McLouth 60, Wathena 35
• The Bulldogs outscored Wathena, 37-17, in the second half to improve to 4-3. Senior Missy Rome led McLouth with 25 points while senior Kylie Shufflebarger scored 11 points.
Immaculata 43, Valley Falls 34
• A 9-1 first quarter and 17-6 third quarter did in the Dragons as they dropped to 3-4. Junior Abbey Kearney led the way for Valley Falls with 17 points. Sophomore Macie Herrig scored 9 points.
Jefferson West 40, Nemaha Valley 35
• West came back from a 5-point deficit entering the fourth quarter to win and move to 2-5. Senior BriAnna Ploude led West with 16 points.
Boys
Jackson Heights 66, Oskaloosa 31
• The Bears dropped to 5-2 as Heights led, 25-2, after one quarter and didn’t look back. Junior Adam Bowser scored 13 points and junior Levi Wade scored 10 in the loss.
KC Christian 53, JCN 37
• North dropped to 3-2. Sophomore Dalton Minor led the Chargers with 14 points.
Nemaha Valley 45, Jefferson West 44
• West fell to 3-4 as the Tigers squandered an 8-point lead starting the second quarter and a 5-point lead entering the fourth quarter. Junior Dillon Roy led West with 13 points and senior Alex Baker scored 10 points.
Wathena 51, McLouth 35
• The Bulldogs dropped to 2-6.
Bonner Springs 68, Perry-Lecompton 36
• The Kaws dropped to 0-5. Senior Shelby Politte scored 10 points to lead the Kaws.
Thursday’s games (Jan. 14)
Girls
JCN 51, McLouth 35
• North got back on the winning track in a makeup game versus McLouth. The Chargers improved to 5-1 while McLouth fell to 4-4. Kramer scored 24 points while GrandPre scored 15 for North. McLouth was led by 16 points from Rome.
Boys
JCN 41, McLouth 31
• North improved to 4-2 while McLouth fell to 2-7. North built a 17-point lead entering the final quarter before McLouth tightened it late. Minor scored 10 points to lead the Chargers. The Bulldogs were led by 13 points from sophomore Alen Kramer and 12 points from senior Cole Batman.
Friday’s games (Jan. 15)
Boys
Doniphan West 50, Oskaloosa 48
• The Bears dropped to 5-3.
JCN 47, Horton 42
• The Chargers held off Horton to improve to 5-2. Junior Jeff Hale led the way for North with 18 points.
Royal Valley 52, Jefferson West 50
• The Tigers dropped to 3-5 as Royal Valley came back from a 9-point halftime deficit to win. Baker scored 14 points while senior Adam Fechter scored 10 points in the loss.
Pleasant Ridge 56, Valley Falls 28
• The Dragons fell to 3-5. Junior Brooks Glassel scored 14 points to lead the Dragons.
Immaculata 65, McLouth 59 (2OT)
• The Bulldogs dropped to 2-8 as a tight game was decided in double overtime. Batman scored 20 points and junior Trevor Roberts added 13 points in the losing cause.
Santa Fe Trail 58, Perry-Lecompton 26
• The Kaws fell to 0-6. Senior Brad Phillips was the high scorer for Perry-Lecompton with 5 points.
Girls
Oskaloosa 57, Doniphan West 28
• The Bears improved to 6-1 overall as a 22-6 first quarter set the tone in the win. Pfau led the Bears with 23 points while Kelly poured in 21.
JCN 58, Horton 48
• North improved to 6-1 with the victory. Kramer paced the Chargers with 29 points and GrandPre scored 10 in the win for North.
Perry-Lecompton 47, Santa Fe Trail 31
• The Kaws improved to 4-1. Junior Abbey Bays, sophomore Natasha Carver and senior Jessica Christman scored 12 points each to lead the Kaws.
McLouth 76, Immaculata 71 (3OT)
• The Bulldogs lost a 6-point lead entering the fourth quarter but got the game won in triple overtime to improve to 5-4. Rome set a school single-game record with 39 points and Shufflebarger scored 14 points in the win.
Valley Falls 43, Pleasant Ridge 29
• The Dragons improved to 4-4 with the win. Kearney scored 16 points for the Dragons.
Jefferson West 36, Royal Valley 35
• The Tigers improved to 3-5.
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