Saryn Brown did all she could for the Mustang girls Friday against South Holt, scoring 11 of her 15 points against the Knights in the fourth quarter. But North Nodaway’s rally fell two points short and they fell to the Knights 38-36.
Last year, the Knights beat North Nodaway twice; once in Hopkins and once in districts. The focus of the game was in shutting down Rayleigh Guyer and Chloee Prussman and make someone else beat them; they put a triangle and two on them. But Mylee Prussman hit two early three pointers to fuel the Knights. Despite playing with just six players, the Knights were swarming and pressing, with North Nodaway committing six turnovers and giving up seven offensive boards in the first quarter. They spotted the home side 13 straight points before Saryn Brown hit a shot at the buzzer to make it 13-2.
North Nodaway did better in the second quarter, but nothing seemed to work as the lead twice grew to 17. They trailed 19-2, fought their way back to 19-8, only for Guyer to hit two tough shots with a hand in her face as the Knights led 25-8 at the half.
All of a sudden, North Nodaway realized they could play ball with the Knights and started doing better. Guyer hit a 30-footer to put the Knights up 30-13 at the 4:18 mark of the third, but then South Holt started getting in foul trouble, with Riley Schneider, Mylee Prussman, and Guyer all getting three. North Nodaway adjusted in the period as they did a much better job shadowing Mylee Prussman, while keeping Guyer and Mylee Prussman locked down.
With North Nodaway playing one of their best defensive stretches, holding the Knights scoreless for an eight minute span, they started to come back. Lauren Herndon hit two free throws, Saryn Brown hit a free throw, and Saylor Brown got a steal and layup and added a 3-pointer to get the Mustang deficit under double digits by the end of the third.
Whenever the Mustangs have struggled over the last two years, Saryn Brown has frequently been the player stepping up, trying to keep her team in the game. In the 22 point loss to Worth County in the Northwest Missouri Tournament last year, for instance, she went to the line 20 times, for instance. In Friday’s game, North Nodaway started getting the ball into her at will, starting with a fourth chance putback. Sh then added a three point play to make it 30-26 as Riley Schneider fouled out.
But then South Hold adjusted, having Guyer drive to the basket every single time she touched the ball. She stopped the bleeding for the Knights, getting a layup and adding two free throws to make it 34-26 at the 4:03 mark. Saryn Brown got a steal, but then Chloee Prussman countered with a putback to put her team up 36-28 with 2:34 left in the game.
North Nodaway finally did a better job helping out on Guyer, and she turned it over twice as the Mustangs started coming back again. Saryn Brown got a putback and added a drive to make it 36-32 at the 1:33 mark.
The Mustangs got the ball back with a chance to cut it to two, but threw it away, and Guyer cut inside to make it 38-32. North Nodaway’s last chance came with 20 seconds, when Chloee Prussman got her fifth foul, leaving South Holt with four players. Lauren Herndon hit both free throws to make it 38-34. North Nodaway tried to force South Holt to inbound the ball to Abby Sipes, but she then got the ball to Guyer, who dribbled 12 seconds off the clock before North Nodaway could get her fouled with 8 seconds left. She missed the 1-1, and Jacquelyn Cline took it down the middle and threw up a runner. It went in, but time expired before North Nodaway could call timeout and stop the clock.
Saryn Brown had 15 points for the Mustangs. Saylor Brown had 9, including 7 in the third quarter. Lauren Herndon and Jacquelyn Cline had 6 each. Saryn Brown had 10 boards and 4 steals. Saylor Brown had 9 boards and 4 steals, while Lauren Herndon had 8 boards.
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