By Becky Walz,
It’s a wrap on the conference regular season after the Turkey Valley girls’ basketball team (14-6, 12-4 UIC) picked up a pair of wins Thursday and Friday over Kee and Postville.
It’s a wrap on the conference regular season after the Turkey Valley girls’ basketball team (14-6, 12-4 UIC) picked up a pair of wins Thursday and Friday over Kee and Postville.
Long road game
Following a nearly-even first half, the Trojan defense locked down in the second half to defeat Kee (7-13, 5-9 UIC) Thursday night in Lansing, 44-27.
The two UIC squads were deadlocked at 7-7 with the first eight minutes behind them. Each team had limited touches in the second period, allowing TV to sneak ahead 17-16 at the break. The Trojans were back on track in the second half, outscoring the home team 27-11 to take the win.
“Our defense was outstanding with Jalyssa (Blazek) and Kara (Reicks) doing an awesome job limiting Reagan Mudderman’s touches. We were strong on the boards too which was a big factor as we didn’t allow Kee many second or third shot attempts. Jacqlyn (Schmitt) reeled in some big offensive boards and was successful on the put backs,” noted Coach Carla Nymeyer. “We did have way too many turnovers…especially unforced. We really need to focus on this as we finish out and prepare for the post-season where we face Kee again for the opening round.”
Blazek and J. Schmitt were the dynamic duo with 14 points apiece. Blazek also grabbed nine rebounds, three steals and had two assists, while J. Schmitt had six boards and two steals. Contributing six points each were Kara Reicks and Aubrey Hoffert with Reicks garnering seven rebounds and four steals. Hoffert added five boards, two steals and two blocked shots.
Turkey Valley 8 9 15 12 44
Kee High 8 8 7 4 27
Scoring – Jalyssa Blazek 14; Jacqlyn Schmitt 14; Kara Reicks 6; Aubrey Hoffert 6; Brianna Busta 4
Rebounds – Blazek 9; Reicks 7; J. Schmitt 6; Hoffert 5; Busta 4; Alison Leibold 3; Assists – Blazek 3; Busta 1; Steals – Reicks 4; Blazek 3; Hoffert 2; J. Schmitt 2; Busta 1; Blocks – Hoffert 2
Solid second half
Picking up where they left off Thursday night, the Trojans utilized a second half surge to defeat Postville (3-17, 2-13 UIC) at home 62-42.
TV battled the Pirates in the first half as Postville shooters got loose and knocked down three-points keep the score close at 31-25 at half. In the third, the Trojans padded their lead to 46-36 and outscored the Pirates 16-6 in the final period.
“Our defense was better in second half and we executed better offensively with balanced scoring and I am very happy with our free throw shooting. The girls also did a fantastic job taking care of the ball, though they exceeded their goal of under 10 turnovers,” said Coach Nymeyer.
J. Schmitt, Blazek and Hoffert were all in double figures. J. Schmitt dropped in 17 points, while the other duo of Blazek and Hoffert added 11 apiece.
Postville 7 18 11 6 42
Turkey Valley 14 17 15 16 62
Scoring – J. Schmitt 17; Blazek 11; Hoffert 11; Mariah Throndson 8; Reicks 5; Busta 5; Hailey Elsbernd 3; Leibold 2
Rebounds – Hoffert 4; Blazek 3; J. Schmitt 3; Olivia Snyder 3; Elsbernd 2; Leibold 2; Reicks 1; Busta 1; Assists – Reicks 3; Busta 3; Blazek 2; Throndson 1; Steals – Reicks 6; Blazek 5; Busta 2; Hoffert 1; Elsbernd 1; Leibold 1; Throndson 1; Blocks – J. Schmitt 1; Leibold 1; Busta 1
This week
Monday, the Trojans played a rescheduled non-conference game at Riceville to conclude the regular season, complete results and a recap of the game will be published in the Thursday, Feb. 10, Public Opinion.
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