Monday, January 25, 2021

Balanced Scoring Gives Mustang Girls Courtwarming Victory

North Nodaway picked up their 12th win, two short of last year’s total, and rolled to a 64-22 courtwarming victory over Northeast Nodaway. Northeast Nodaway had every reason to expect a better outcome. They had played the Mustangs tough in the Platte Valley Invitational and North Nodaway had lost two players to injuries since that encounter. The Bluejays had been playing some good teams tough even though they came up short.

But the Mustangs won the turnover battle, as the Bluejays surrendered the ball 27 times Friday, while North Nodaway only surrendered the ball 11 times. Jacquelyn Cline was the steady hand for the Mustangs; she got six points in each of the first three quarters for a total of 18; after getting her first ever double double against Gilman City, she nearly got another one, getting 9 steals. Saryn Brown, who frequently plays at the top of North Nodaway’s zone, deflected 12 passes so that Northeast could never get into their offensive rhythm; as a team, the Mustangs deflected 34 passes, generating the kind of ball pressure that coach Sami Jackson had been looking for. As a team, they stole the ball 24 times.

In addition to the turnover battle, North Nodaway had four people in double figures. Besides Cline, Lauren Herndon had 17, Jadon Dobbins 16, and Saryn Brown 11. Sarah Wray added the other two. Despite Northeast playing man to man all night, North Nodaway got untracked at the 3-point line, getting 10 3-pointers. They had another good night at the line as well, going 10 for 15.

North Nodaway started off strong, getting to the rim several times to set up Saryn Brown for three to make it 9-2 in the early going. But then Anne Schieber countered with a 3-pointer for Northeast. However, Jacquelyn Cline got a steal and score, and added a drive, and then Saryn Brown pushed one ahead to Lauren Herndon for a transition three to make it 16-5, an echo of the play against Rock Port late in regulation that tied it up.

Dalanie Auffert hit two free throws to cut it to 16-7 after one, and the Bluejays hung around for the first few minutes of the second quarter thanks to some missed free throws by North Nodaway. The score was 19-11, but then Saryn Brown tipped an errant inbounds pass, Jacquelyn Cline got the steal and the layup, and she added a pair of free throws to make it 23-11. Northeast burned a timeout, but then Lauren Herndon hit two free throws, Jadon Dobbins got loose in transition, Cline got another steal, Saryn Brown hit Lauren Herndon for three, and the rout was on. Herndon hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to put North Nodaway up 38-11 at the break.

For Northeast Nodaway, Anne Schieber had 7, Cassy Redden 6, Dalanie Auffert 4, Jill Boswell 3, and Saige Kohlleppel 2. Meredith Adwell was a bright spot for the Bluejays, showing some aggression on the floor when she came off the bench.


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