North Nodaway took their play to a historic level Tuesday when they shocked everyone besides themselves with a 43-32 win over Mound City, the defending state champions. It was their first win over Mound City since at least the 2009-2010 season; most of the games have been one-sided affairs in favor of the Panthers. But North Nodaway completely outplayed the Panthers, withstanding run after run by the purple shirts.
Thursday was a perfect trap game for North Nodaway. The Bobcats, with their 1-3 record, was easy to overlook despite the fact they had taken North Nodaway to overtime in Cainsville last year. But their losses were all against quality opponents in Worth County, Osborn, and Grundy County; they finally got on the winning track against doormat Union Star with a 55-20 win Tuesday.
But the Mustangs were red hot Thursday night from the field and stayed that way the whole game, fueled by Kandace Damgar and her 21 points. North Nodaway stole the ball 34 times against the Bobcats and forced between 40 and 45 turnovers. The result was a 67-48 win over East Harrison; the Mustangs put up the most points on the board in the win since January 23rd, 2015, when they beat West Nodaway 70-27. The game started off knotted at 2, but then Audrey Trimble got a steal and a layup. Kandace Damgar hit a baseline three, Ashley Thompson hit a free throw, and then Damgar hit back to back threes before Ashley Thompson got a third chance putback to make it 16-2 at the 3:15 mark.
For some reason, Natayla Selby, who was injured during the Worth County game but was at full strength for Thursday's game, did not start and did not come in until the score was 16-2. When she came in, the Bobcats looked like a completely different team, moving the ball around, staying out of the trap areas, and moving to the open areas. Lauryn Waddle hit a three point play and Selby struck from downtown and all of a sudden, the Bobcats were threatening to make it a game, down only 16-8.
The margin stayed between 8 and 10 points until a momentum changing sequence in favor of North Nodaway happened at the end of the first quarter. Keagan O'Riley hit a mid-range jumper with about 12 seconds left to make it 20-10. Then, as time was winding down, the orange shirts took it down the right side of the court right into North Nodaway's trapping defense, and Saylor Brown came away with a steal. She raced down the floor and fed O'Riley for a layup as time expired in the period to put North Nodaway up 22-10.
The momentum continued into the second quarter as Kristin Herndon started off with a steal and the Audrey Trimble took on several orange shirts, blowing by them like they weren't even there for a layup to make it 26-10. Waddle countered with a drive, but Saylor Brown got the ball into Ashley Thompson inside and added a pair of free throws to make it 30-12. Selby did all she could to keep her squad in the game, but North Nodaway continued to hit shots and took a 41-23 lead into halftime. Frustration set in for the Bobcats; their new skipper, Taylor Zimmerman, was yelling so loud at her team during halftime in the locker room she could be heard clear from the stands and Bill Pottorff, who coached them last year, stormed out of the court in disgust at one point during the third quarter.
The game stayed between 15 and 20 until about three minutes were left in the third, when another momentum-changing sequence happened Keagan O'Riley hit from the left side to make it 48-27 off a pass from Kandace Damgar; then, as East Harrison was bringing it up the floor, the ball came loose and Audrey Trimble saved it to Kandace Damgar. Damgar had trouble securing the ball, got tangled up with Natayla Selby, but somehow came away with the ball with nothing between her and the basket for a layup. Saylor Brown added a pair of free throws off a steal, and Kristin Herndon drove into the teeth of the Bobcat defense and got a layup after getting a pass from Jadon Dobbins. Waddle countered with a backdoor layup, but Saylor Brown hit Audrey Trimble for three to make it 57-28.
At that point, North Nodaway started clearing their bench, but East Harrison wasn't finished Selby and the Bobcats got untracked, closing to 57-38 early in the fourth quarter. But North Nodaway put their starters back in and Damgar hit back to back threes before Jadon Dobbins added a steal to make it 65-38 with 3:41 left.
Kandace Damgar had 21 points to lead the Mustangs. Keagan O'Riley and Kristin Herndon had 12 each, Audrey Trimble 9, Ashley Thompson 7, Saylor Brown 4, and Jadon Dobbins 2.
Ashley Thompson had 2 blocks and Kristin Herndon 1.
Ashley Thompson had 8 boards and Kristin Herndon 6. Kandace Damgar and Keagan O'Riley had 2 each, and Audrey Trimble and Emma Hart 1.
Keagan O'Riley had 6 assists for the Mustangs. Saylor Brown had 5, Kristin Herndon and Audrey Trimble 2 each, and Kandace Damgar and Felicia Wylie 1 each.
Kristin Herndon had 7 steals to lead North Nodaway. Kandace Damgar and Saylor Brown had 6, Jadon Dobbins 5, Audrey Trimble 4, Keagan O'Riley 3, Karissa Oberhauser 2, and Emma Hart 1.
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