North Nodaway had plenty of reason to be discouraged after a 2-5 start. But all of a sudden, they pulled off a 55-47 overtime win over East Harrison in Cainsville, not one of the easier venues to play in, and have not lost since. They have beaten some pushovers, such as Union Star, Stewartsville, and Savannah’s JV squad. But two other victims in Rock Port and South Nodaway were quality opponents. Monday night, North Nodaway extended their winning streak to six, the longest in the Sami Jackson era. They won five straight at the end of the year in 2014-2015, the first year she was the coach. The last time they won six straight was in 2011-2012.
The Mustangs got off to a slow start in their 55-17 win Monday night. They turned over the ball four times in the first three minutes, struggled to find the range, and had trouble with Savannah JV’s man to man defense. But all of a sudden, they figured out that the Savages didn’t have anyone who could match up with Ashley Thompson and started feeding her the ball at will. Their press started to tell on their inexperienced foes as they started getting tips and steals off of it. And they took much better care of the ball – after the first three minutes, they didn’t turn the ball over again until the third quarter, when the game was already decided.
The worrisome thing for Mustang opponents is that the players were able to figure things out on their own – Coach Sami didn’t have to burn a time out and ask the players how bad they wanted it.
The emergence of Ashley Thompson as a force down low has been one of the main reasons why North Nodaway has been winning. After starting the season off slowly, she got a double double and stood out despite the Mustangs’ 42-28 loss to NEN that night; she has been getting them ever since. She went into beast mode territory Monday, getting 19 points along with a career high 16 boards, 5 blocks, and 4 steals as everyone was feeding her the ball at will – North Nodaway had 18 assists for the night.
And the play of Audrey Trimble helped North Nodaway pull away after their slow start. She carried the team in the first with nine of her 13 points in the period as the Mustangs held on defense – thanks in part to Kristin Herndon and Ashley Thompson blocking and altering shots in the paint – and scoring 22 unanswered in the first quarter. She capped off her effort with a steal and a layup at the buzzer.
That opened up Ashley Thompson in the second quarter, as she got 10 in the period as North Nodaway stretched out the lead to 38-6 at the half. Keagan O’Riley was getting her the ball inside at will – getting 5 of her 6 assists in the first half. Trimble, Herndon, and Kandace Damgar were also getting her the ball down low.
Ashley Thompson continued to hustle during the third, getting one basket when she stripped one of the black shirts of the ball and laying it in. Kandace Damgar got untracked late in the third and early in the fourth, going backdoor at will and getting six points.
Ashley Thompson had 19 points to lead North Nodaway. Audrey Trimble had 13, Alisha Davison 7, Kandace Damgar 6, Emma Hart and Kristin Herndon 4, and Keagan O’Riley 2.
Ashley Thompson had 5 blocks, while Kristin Herndon had 2.
Ashley Thompson had 16 boards. Kandace Damgar had 5, Keagan O’Riley, Emma Hart, and Jadon Dobbins 3, Kristin Herndon and Karissa Oberhauser 2, and Katie Bloomquist 1.
Keagan O’Riley had 6 assists for the Mustangs. Audrey Trimble and Kristin Herndon had 4, Kandace Damgar 2, and Jadon Dobbins and Ashley Thompson 1 each.
Audrey Trimble and Kandace Damgar had 6 tips each for North Nodaway. Ashley Thompson and Alisha Davison had 3, Keagan O’Riley, Kristin Herndon, Emma Hart, and Karissa Oberhauser 2 each, and Jadon Dobbins 1.
Ashley Thompson and Audrey Trimble had 4 steals each. Alisha Davison had 3, and Kristin Herndon, Kandace Damgar, and Emma Hart had 2.
North Nodaway also beat Stewartsville 49-5 Friday. It was 35-2 at the half. Alisha Davison had 15, Kristin Herndon 9, Ashley Thompson 7, Audrey Trimble 6, Jadon Dobbins and Emma Hart 4, and Kandace Damgar and Keagan O’Riley 2 each. Ashley Thompson had 2 blocks, while Kristin Herndon had 1. Ashley Thompson and Kristin Herndon had 11 boards each.
Against Rock Port, North Nodaway led 35-13 at the half and cruised to victory, winning 48-25. North Nodaway had every reason to expect a close game since they had only beaten Rock Port 32-30 in Mound City, but their pressure was able to tell this time. Kristin Herndon was a force in the paint, blocking 5 shots. Alisha Davison hit two 3-pointers early, opening everything else up.
Ashley Thompson had 15 points, Kandace Damgar and Alisha Davison had 8 each, Keagan O’Riley and Audrey Trimble had 5 each, and Emma Hart had 2. Thompson had 11 boards.
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