Bluejays secure commanding win on Senior Night
TUCKER MCCOLLOUGH/THE FORUM
Northeast Nodaway starters Kynder Florea, Hayley Yost, Hadley DeFreece, Baylie Busby and Sasha Deardorff wait to be introduced on Friday in Ravenwood.
RAVENWOOD, Mo. — A strong first-half led by seniors Hadley DeFreece, Sasha Deardoff and Baylie Busby propelled Northeast Nodaway to a commanding 43-20 win over Stewartsville/Osborn on Friday night and what they hope is a strong finish to the regular season.
Busby also celebrated her 1,000th career point in front of the home crowd after she hit that mark a few games ago.
“Baylie is the leader of the team,” Bluejay coach Ike Werner said. “She is a consistent four-year starter with multiple accolades, and you can’t ask for anymore.”
The Bluejays started the game quickly as Hayley Yost would get the game going with a mid-range shot. Almost all of the Bluejay points came off turnovers as the WildCards struggled to get the ball up the floor with quality shots.
Along with good offense, Yost protected the paint as the Wildcards only scored on free throws and an uncharacteristic turnover going into the second quarter trailing 16-4.
In the second quarter, the Bluejay offense slowed down — only scoring nine points in the quarter, but their defense did not let up, staying in their press. Busby would get a steal — taking the ball baseline to baseline — and getting free throws. At the half, the Bluejays would lead 25-8.
“We have a good zone, each girl knows how to cover her spot and they all trust each other,” Werner said. “Their communication is a big factor.”
DeFreece continued her tear at the 3-point line, giving the gym some juice at the start of the third quarter. Busby and Yost also had strong finishes at the rim for the Bluejays. The WildCards got a little offense going, but they still entered the fourth quarter down 34-15.
“Hadley hits that three ball,” Werner said “She probably needs to put it up a little more, we are going to miss her next year.”
In the fourth, it was all smiles for Northeast Nodaway as they could tell they secured a win for their seniors. The Bluejays worked the ball around the floor continuing to get good shots and did not let up on defense.
“I want us to succeed on Senior Night so we went hard the whole time,” Busby said.
An emotional moment came late in the fourth as Werner subbed his seniors out and the gym gave applause for the hard work they put in this season.
Yost said she has learned a great deal from the seniors on the team.
“These seniors have really guided me these past years,” she said. “They’re the most determined people I’ve ever met. I look up to each one of them so incredibly much.”
The Bluejays were led in scoring by Busby with 12 points followed by Yost and DeFreece both with 11. Mylle Wilimes added five and Skyler Florea had four.
With the win, Northeast Nodaway moves to 17-7 on the season. Their next game will be against South Holt in Oregon on Tuesday.
“These seniors are the leading core, and they go and ball out,” Werner said.
