Lady Stangs get back on track against Rockets
JASON LAWRENCE/DAILY FORUM
North Nodaway senior guard Sam Frueh tries to get her shot up through the defense from West Nodaway senior guard Kristine Ecker during the Lady Mustangs’ 70-27 win over the Lady Rockets Friday night.
After back-to-back losses to end the Fairfax Tournament last week, the North Nodaway girls basketball team needed exactly what they got Friday night in Burlington Junction: a wide margin of victory.
After letting a 13-point lead vanish in the third place game of the Fairfax Tournament, a 13-0 first-quarter run gave the Lady Mustangs all the cushion they needed to pull out a 70-27 win over West Nodaway Friday.
“It was important for us just to get our minds right again,” North Nodaway head coach Sami Jackson said. “When you have losses like we’ve had the past two games, it really knocks you down, so it was a good pick-me-up for us.”
West Nodaway scored first and went back and forth with the Lady Mustangs for the first four minutes of the opening quarter, as the lead changed hands seven times. The last Rocket advantage of the quarter, 9-8, on a jumper by senior post Alyson Dye proved to be their final lead of the night.
“The beginning of the game, we were playing their game, we weren’t running our plays, we were just trying to get some quick shots off,” Jackson said. “Once we got settled and played our game and made smart passes, we started doing really well and played that way the rest of the game.”
A corner jumper from North Nodaway sophomore post Kelsi Oberhauser gave the Mustangs a 10-9 lead and started a 13-0 run that would last until a layup by West Nodaway senior Kristine Ecker ended the spurt. The Mustangs, however, held a 25-11 lead at the end of the first frame.
They pushed their lead to 29-11 — a 7-0 run — before two free throws from Dye ended that spurt. By the end of the first half, North Nodaway had built a 40-19 advantage, largely on the strength of sophomore center Madison Thompson’s work inside and the driving of junior guard Breann O’Riley. The two combined for 24 first-half points.
“Breann can do a good job stepping up for us from the outside when she wants to,” Jackson said. “When she’s making good decisions, her and Madison can work really well together, getting it inside and then Madison kicking it right back out to her. It is important because it brings some people off of Madison and gets her open more. They work off each other really well.”
After Dye hit two free throws to open the second-half scoring — her final points of the game before fouling out with 6:04 left in the third quarter — the Mustangs went on a 14-0 run to stretch their lead to 54-21 lead and all but seal their eighth victory of the season.
“Our defensive intensity is what picked up there in the third quarter,” Jackson said. “… We got our defense up and we stopped them some more and gave our bench some more time to play. It was good for everyone, one through eight getting out there, playing and building their confidence up.”
Thompson paced all scorers with 23 points while O’Riley finished with 16. Freshman guard Alisha Davison chipped in 11 in the winning effort. Dye led West Nodaway (0-14) with eight points.
North Nodaway (8-9) returns to action at 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 30 at home against Northeast Nodaway (8-10). The Mustangs beat the Bluejays 27-17 in the Northwest Missouri Tournament in December.
West Nodaway plays at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 27 at Albany.
JASON LAWRENCE/DAILY FORUM
West Nodaway senior guard Melody McGinness just keeps hold of her dribble as she turns the corner to get around North Nodaway freshman guard Alisha Davison in Friday night’s 70-27 North Nodaway victory in Burlington Junction.
JASON LAWRENCE/DAILY FORUM
West Nodaway senior guard Melody McGinness, who scored four points Friday night, goes in for a layup despite the contact from North Nodaway freshman guard Alisha Davison during the Lady Mustangs’ 70-27 win.
JASON LAWRENCE/DAILY FORUM
North Nodaway sophomore center Madison Thompson works around West Nodaway senior forward Alyson Dye for two of her game-high 23 points in the Lady Mustangs’ 70-27 win Friday night in Burlington Junction.
JASON LAWRENCE/DAILY FORUM
North Nodaway freshman guard Alisha Davison takes a jumpshot in the first half of the Lady Mustangs’ 70-27 win over West Nodaway Friday night. Davison scored 11 points in the victory.
