Eagles stop Bluejays’ 4-game win streak
DALTON VITT/DAILY FORUM
Jefferson junior Kelsi McQuinn is fouled on a fast break by Northeast Nodaway senior Dallis Coffelt on Tuesday, a 53-20 win for the Eagles in Ravenwood.
In the last couple weeks, the Northeast Nodaway girls’ basketball team had appeared to hit its stride, coming out on top in four straight games with a determination to play its own brand of basketball.
That four-game winning streak came to an end on Tuesday night to the Jefferson Eagles, a team on a late-season run of its own. The Eagles won over the Bluejays in Ravenwood, 50-23, behind 15 points from senior forward Jessie Henry and a narrowed focus on the task at hand.
“That’s something, whenever you set your goals for the conference, that’s one of your goals: You can’t take any night for granted,” Eagles head coach Tyler Pedersen said. “We’ve paid attention to some scores and I knew (Northeast Nodaway) was playing some good ball. There was a lot of focus coming into tonight.”
The first quarter was a battle in the post between Henry and Northeast Nodaway senior Dallis Coffelt, both of whom hit their offensive strides early in the contest.
Henry scored six of the Eagles’ first eight points, the first two coming on a jumper in the middle of the lane. Coffelt answered for the Bluejays with a pair of and-ones, drawing her side back to within 8-6 with 3:03 to go in the opening period.
“They have their inside game and we have our inside game,” Northeast Nodaway head coach Joyce Stiens said. “When Dallis can score for us, that really helps our guards on the perimeter. … We were still in that game the first quarter, but we weren’t playing with a lot of hustle and enthusiasm. We looked dead on the floor. I think just the idea of playing Jefferson really overwhelmed us.”
Despite Northeast Nodaway keeping the tempo slow in the opening quarter, a pace it prefers to play, Jefferson was still able to grab a 13-6 lead at the end of one by scoring the final five points of the opening frame.
Early in the second quarter, the Eagles continued building on their lead with a 9-0 run that included an and-one from junior forward Kayla Schmitz, helping to take a 22-8 advantage. By halftime, that lead stood at 27-12.
That damage, and Henry’s success inside, came despite the Bluejays employment of a diamond-and-one defense designed to take away Henry in the post. Throughout the season, the Eagles have dealt with opposing defenses working to limit their leading scorer.
“We’ve worked on some of that stuff. Part of it is identifying how to attack it,” Pedersen said of the Bluejays’ specific defensive strategy. “That’s part of the battle. We’ve worked on some of that. Any experience you get playing against a defense like that really helps. It helps the girls become more comfortable as they see it.”
Jefferson broke things open in the third quarter, starting the second half with 15 straight points while locking down defensively.
Northeast Nodaway took more than seven minutes to score its first point of the second half, all while the Eagles began ramping up their offensive efficiency.
“I thought the girls did a nice job defensively,” Pedersen said. “We held them to 12 in the first half and they were held to 12 for most of the third quarter. Defensively, I thought we did a really good job.”
The lengthy Jefferson run in the third quarter ended with 30 seconds left in the frame on a turnaround in the lane from Coffelt.
Despite the double-digit loss at home, putting an end to a solid string of games, Stiens believes her team can restart its latest run of hot play.
“A lot of it is confidence and getting back to what we do,” Stiens said. “We needed to slow the game down and be patient, but then again, I think we were too lethargic on offense and not looking to drive the ball and get the ball in the gaps.”
Coffelt led the Bluejays with 15 points. Schmitz complemented Henry’s 15 points with nine of her own, followed by eight from junior guard Kelsi McQuinn.
Jefferson (20-2) will host Stewartsville at 6 p.m. Friday for Homecoming in Burlington Junction. Northeast Nodaway (14-8) will play again at 6 p.m. Friday at DeKalb.
DALTON VITT/DAILY FORUM
Northeast Nodaway freshman MaKayla Adwell fires an open jump shot from the baseline on Tuesday during the Bluejays’ 53-20 home loss to Jefferson.
DALTON VITT/DAILY FORUM
Eagles senior forward Jessie Henry slips through a Northeast Nodaway double team on Tuesday as Jefferson won a 53-20 decision in Ravenwood.
DALTON VITT/DAILY FORUM
Senior Jill Spire drives the baseline for Northeast Nodaway during Tuesday’s 53-20 loss to Jefferson, ending a four-game win streak for the Bluejays.
