Northeast Nodaway came back with a vengeance to start the 2017-2018 season and torched Albany 60-36 as they seek to erase memories of a forgettable six win season last year. In that season, Taylor Coffelt blew her knee out in the third game of the year and didn’t come back until softball season this fall. Last Tuesday, she came back and was at full strength, grabbing 15 boards. In her absence last year, Makayla Adwell and Gerry Runde turned into the main scorers for the team and they picked up where they left off, with Adwell getting 22 and Runde 18. And freshman Paige West picked right up where she left off last year’s successful junior high campaign, wreaking havoc on defense; Albany was not able to run their offense and she got 10 tips and five steals. Cassy Redden showed she was one of the most improved players from last year; she was a force on the boards and grabbed eight.
Albany had a freshman, Gabby Newman, who kept them in the game early as she got the first seven points for the Warriors. Northeast countered with some havoc on defense. Makayla Adwell hit Gerry Runde on the baseline for a 3-pointer; Paige West got a tip and steal and got it to Cassy Redden, who aired it out to Makayla Adwell for a layup. Paige West got another steal and missed a contested layup, but Blair Stoll was there to clean up. And Adwell hit two free throws off an inbounds pass from Runde as Northeast withstood Newman’s onslaught and led 9-7.
Northeast finally gained some separation late in the first quarter after Newman picked up two fouls. Makayla Adwell scored on a drive and three point play after Madelynn Mattson kicked one out to her. Taylor Coffelt tipped an errant Albany pass to her for a layup to make it 19-9 before consecutive fast breaks from Sierra Anthony cut it to 19-13 after one.
There were lots of turnovers for both sides and the pace was frantic, but the foul differential, 7-4 in Northeast’s favor, did not bode well for Albany. The Warriors had 10 turnovers early in the second, many of them unforced, as they were intimidated by Northeast’s trapping zone. Paige West scored backdoor right off the bat off a pass from Redden, Taylor Coffelt hit a free throw, then Makayla Adwell hit two free throws after Paige West stole an outlet pass to make it 24-13 and prompt an Albany timeout. But that didn’t solve things as Albany had a pair of unforced turnovers which led to a Taylor Coffelt shot on the right wing on a third chance possession to make it 26-13. Kaycee Messner countered with a baseline shot to make it 26-15, but Blair Stoll hit Paige West on the top of the key. Then, West got a defensive board and got a quick outlet to Makayla Adwell, who threw it to Runde for a breakaway; Adwell went to the rack and hit two free throws before Martin countered with a free throw for Albany to make it 32-16 at the break. The Albany folks were obviously in, “Here we go again” mode, as evidenced by a student who was lying down on the bleachers as the action was taking place.
As Albany was throwing up quick shots in the third quarter, it continued to fuel Northeast, which had 50 boards for the night. Gerry Runde hit Makayla Adwell backdoor to start the scoring as NEN came out strongly out of the break. Abbey Landon countered with a putback, but Adwell hit a free throw, Stoll hit a putback, and Paige West got a good high-low pass to Runde to make it 39-18.
Lulu Brown, who led the scoring last year for the Warriors, and who was quiet so far, finally broke the run by hitting all three shots of a three shot foul to break the run and the teams traded buckets for the remainder of the third quarter.
Albany tried to follow their lead of two years ago, when they wiped out a sixteen point NEN lead through their press and the teams both played at a kamikaze pace for the rest of the way. But Northeast gained some more separation in the fourth as Paige West got a tip and steal and aired it out to Taylor Coffelt to start the fourth. Brown countered with a free throw, but Gerry Runde got a drive and pullup and Runde hit Taylor Coffelt at the top of the key to give Northeast its biggest lead of the night at 58-33.
For Northeast, Makayla Adwell had 22 points and Gerry Runde had 18. Taylor Coffelt had 7, Blair Stoll had 6, Paige West had 4, and Madelynn Mattson had 3.
Gerry Runde had 4 blocks as Albany tried to attack the paint early to no avail, leading to them settling for outside shots much of the way. Madelynn Mattson had 2 and Paige West 1.
Northeast had an astonishing 50 boards as a team. Taylor Coffelt had 15, Cassy Redden 8, Blair Stoll, Gerry Runde, and Madelynn Mattson all had 6, Paige West 4, Makayla Adwell 3, and Angela Standiford and Brittany Moran had 1.
Makayla Adwell, Gerry Runde, and Paige West all had 4 assists. Madelynn Mattson and Blair Stoll each had 2, while Cassy Redden had 1.
Paige West had 10 tips for Northeast. Blair Stoll and Taylor Coffelt had 5, Makayla Adwell and Cassy Redden had 4, Angela Standiford had 3, and Gerry Runde and Madelynn Mattson had 1 each. Northeast collected 32 tips for the night.
Makayla Adwell, one of the area leaders in steals the last two years, picked up where she left off with 7 steals for Northeast. Paige West had 5, Blair Stoll and Taylor Coffelt 2 each, and Cassy Redden 1.
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