Northeast Nodaway’s junior high girls fed Hayley Yost at will and advanced to the semifinal round of the Northeast Nodaway Tournament, beating North Nodaway 27-6 Monday night. Previously, the Bluejays had dropped their opening round game against King City; they played well against a solid team on the floor but couldn’t finish off possessions.
But the Bluejays emerged from their funk and learned from that experiencing, pounding the ball into Yost at will on offense and continuing their brand of swarming defense led by Brianna Meyer, who had 18 tipped balls in Monday’s win. She would have had more had she not sat part of the second quarter with two fouls.
The Bluejays began a big winning streak, which they carried into the King City tournament, avenging their first loss of the season by beating the Wildkats by 12 points. They lost by four to an undefeated Albany squad, but then turned around and beat St. Joseph Catholic 27-17 for the third place trophy
Against North Nodaway, the difference between the two teams was clear; Northeast was able to force the young Mustang squad out of their offense; they had 32 tips and 25 steals for the night. North Nodaway couldn’t get the Bluejays out of their offensive; they had only 5 tips and 10 steals, and no tips or steals in the first quarter as the Bluejays built a 7-0 lead. Five out of Northeast’s points in the period were from teammates feeding Yost at will.
Kynder Florea went coast to coast to make it 11-0 at the 4:27 mark of the second quarter before the Mustangs broke the shutout, with Lily Blane hitting a shot from the wing. But Blair Nelson fed Yost inside again, and then Kynder Florea drove and hit two free throws to make it 15-2 at the half.
Hayley Yost scored nine out of Northeast’s 15 points in the first half, and that opened everyone else up as Blair Nelson scored off a drive after getting a pass from Meyer, Brianna got a tip and steal and finished on the other end, Meyer drove into the paint and scored from the elbow, and another Meyer drive set up Yost inside to make it 23-2 at the 1:00 mark of the third.
Lily Blaine cut into the Bluejay lead with two free throws, but Northeast continued to pull away in the fourth, getting a putback from Kynder Florea and an inside shot from Hayley Yost.
The varsity Bluejays are looking to return to at least .500 this year, and they will be much more formidable next year when Yost pairs with Dalanie Auffert, another inside force the Bluejays have developed along with Makenzie Pride.
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