North Nodaway’s girls grabbed the Consolation trophy Saturday, recovering from a rough stretch in which they lost games to Stewartsville/Osborn and Falls City. Falls City came into the game allegedly seeded seventh, but whoever seeded them was way out in left field, as they hung 71 points on North Nodaway and went on to beat South Holt before playing East Atchison tough and taking second place.
North Nodaway recovered by getting back to playing solid defense, putting together a gem against Rock Port, winning 38-18. They then beat St. Joseph Christian 51-35 in Saturday’s game, dismantling an athletic Lions squad. The Mustangs have won a lot of games from beyond the arc, but in Saturday’s game, they won it from the free throw line, making 25 of their 38 attempts.
The Lions’ strategy was to make North Nodaway beat them some other way than behind the 3-point arc; they played man to man the whole game, controlled the gaps, and hammered the Mustangs every time they tried to score at close range.
The Lions jumped ahead 5-0 as North Nodaway turned the ball over four times and gave up a third chance putback, but then Lauren Herndon shot them back into the game with a 3-pointer, added a free throw, and then Jadon Dobbins added a steal and layup after Jacquelyn Cline got a tip to make it 6-5. Somehow, despite all the early mistakes, North Nodaway had the lead.
Christian hit a triple to go back in front 10-7, but Lauren Herndon’s putback put North Nodaway back in front 13-12 after one.
Jacquelyn Cline cut inside and got a pass from Saryn Brown, Jadon Dobbins hit two free throws, and then added a fast break off a pass from Lauren Herndon to make it 19-12, and then North Nodaway made a living off the free throw line for much of the remainder of the period. But then Christian got loose in transition and got an inside shot to drop at the buzzer to cut it to 26-22 at the half.
The Lions cut it to 26-24 at the start of the second half, but then Ellaina Renfro, who played her best game so far as a Mustang, slipped backdoor and got an inbounds pass from Herndon, drew the foul, and hit both free throws. Cline added another one, but then Christian hit a couple of outside shots to make it one at 29-28. North Nodaway started getting on the line again, but Christian hung around thanks to some missed free throws at the end of the third quarter. But North Nodaway maintained a three point lead.
Renfro sparked the Mustangs again with a putback, and then Saryn Brown added two free throws after North Nodaway got in the bonus early in the fourth. Then, after a Mustang stop, Jadon Dobbins pushed it ahead to Jacquelyn Cline for a transition three that turned out to be a dagger, putting North Nodaway up double digits at 40-30.
Lauren Herndon and Saryn Brown added free throws, but Christian had an outside shot and a 3-pointer go in as they closed to within 43-35 at the 2:10 mark. But Jadon Dobbins, who scored the last nine Mustang points of the game, took over, driving at will and going 4 for 5 down the stretch from the line to close out the win. Despite using only five players for nearly all the game, it was North Nodaway who finished strong.
Jadon Dobbins had 16 to pace the Mustangs. Lauren Herndon had 14, Jacquelyn Cline 11, Ellaina Renfro a career high with 6, and Saryn Brown 4.
Saryn Brown, Lauren Herndon, and Jacquelyn Cline had 8 boards each. Ellaina Renfro got a personal best in the rebounding chart with 6 boards. Jadon Dobbins had 5 and Sarah Wray had 1.
Saryn Brown had 4 assists. Jacquelyn Cline, Lauren Herndon, and Jadon Dobbins had 3, and Ellaina Renfro 1.
Jadon Dobbins had 5 tips. Saryn Brown and Jacquelyn Cline had 2 each, and Lauren Herndon and Ellaina Renfro had 1 each.
Lauren Herndon had a career high with 7 steals. Jacquelyn Cline and Saryn Brown had 4, and Jadon Dobbins 2.
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