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Girls overcome Iowa Valley in opener
by Matthew Dickinson, sports editor · Sports · December 04, 2024
In its road and season opener, the West Branch girls’ basketball team used a fast start and survived a late run by Iowa Valley to dispatch the Tigers 56-47 Nov. 26.
“We came out, and I felt we played the style of basketball we wanted to,” Bears Head Coach Justin Liddle said. “We were up and down, pressuring, we got turnovers early. Made shots early, and things were going well.”
The coach added that Iowa Valley “made some adjustments and kind of bullied us a little bit on the defensive end” and that “it’s great to get a win.”
Iowa Valley had the upper hand in terms of regular season experience, having played a pair of games before the Bears’ season debut. West Branch nevertheless came out focused and sharp, jumping out to an early 9-3 lead on the strength of an Addi Schultes 3-pointer, a 3-pointer by Ava Burnett, a jump shot by Kennedy Simpson, and a 3-pointer by Katelyn Essington to force an Iowa Valley timeout.
After the break, the Bears remained aggressive with a layup each by Schultes and Lexi Skay followed by a free throw by Sulli Bucknell to lead 14-3. After a free throw by Iowa Valley, Bucknell got to the line again and converted both free throws to push the lead to 16-4. Burnett followed with a layup, while Bucknell got a layup to go following a West Branch steal as the Bears claimed a commanding 20-4 edge. The Tigers got two more points before the end of the first, but Simpson finished off the quarter with a layup to make it a 22-6 affair after eight minutes.
The hot start was fueled in part by a stellar defensive effort. The Bears employed a full-court press throughout most of the first quarter, forcing Iowa Valley to work deep in the shot clock and creating several turnovers that led to easy baskets.
“That was huge,” the coach said of the defensive effort. “That set the tone. Kind of gave us a comfortable lead where in the second half, when things weren’t going quite our way, we had that cushion.”
Burnett got a layup to go to start the second, while Jenie Gomez snapped a 4-0 Iowa Valley run with a free throw. Iowa Valley responded with another pair of points, forcing a West Branch timeout with the road team still ahead 25-10.
After the timeout, Alyssa Pierce found Simpson for a layup to make it a 27-13 game. Following a Tigers free throw, Gomez got a layup to go while a Bucknell drive and layup made it 31-16 moments later. A Schultes jump shot and a Skay 3-pointer kept Iowa Valley at an arm’s length, with a Gomez layup moments later making it 35-20. The Tigers had two more points before the end of the half as West Branch took a comfortable 35-22 edge into the locker room.
After the break, the Bears continued to find offensive success with an offensive rebound by Gomez that turned into a Simpson layup. Skay followed with a jump shot, while Simpson stretched the edge to 43-26 with a pair of baskets as Iowa Valley called timeout to regroup with 4:43 left in the quarter.
After the break, Simpson got a 3-pointer to push the edge to 20 while a Bucknell layup moments later forced another Iowa Valley timeout, this one coming with 2:44 to go in the period. The Tigers played sharp down the stretch, making some shots that had refused to go earlier in the contest and ramping up the defensive tenacity to take a 9-0 run into the final quarter and slice the deficit to 48-38.
“Our mindset was we’re going to battle and compete to win,” Liddle said.
With the game hanging in the balance, the Bears buckled down. Simpson opened the quarter scoring with a crucial basket and a chance at a 3-point play. The free throw did not go, but the Bears led 50-38. Iowa Valley’s chances took a blow shortly thereafter, as starter Izzy Kriegel picked up her fourth foul with 6:15 to play. A Schultes jump shot pushed the lead to 52-40, while standout senior Lydia Kriegel received her fourth foul of the game with 5:12 to play. Schultes continued to attack, earning a trip to the charity stripe and getting one of two attempts to go to make it 53-42. Iowa Valley’s foul trouble proved devastating on the other end, as Izzy Kriegel fouled out on a charge with 5:03 remaining. She compiled eight points, seven rebounds, an assist and a block during the game.
Down one of its two best players, Iowa Valley kept battling. West Branch ran into some foul trouble of its own as Schultes collected her fourth foul with 4:38 to play. Scoring was hard to come by in the final moments, but Gomez got a free throw to give the Bears a 54-45 edge as the Tigers called a timeout with 2:54 left.
The ice-cold Iowa Valley offense continued, all but ensuring a win for West Branch. Simpson had the Bears’ final basket on a layup, while Iowa Valley scored just two more points down the stretch to fall to 0-3 on the year.
Simpson emerged as West Branch’s top scoring option in the game, finishing with a team-high 19 points on 9-20 shooting from the field and a 3-pointer. Simpson added three rebounds, an assist, and three steals to her ledger.
“She played great,” the coach said of Simpson. “She can handle the ball for us. She’s much more attack-minded this year.”
Liddle added that the Bears will use a team effort to score this season instead of focusing on a few players.
The Bears’ depth also helped secure the win. While Iowa Valley played just six players, West Branch deployed nine players including four reserves outside of the starting five. Essington, who had a big day scoring in the team’s scrimmage against Benton the previous week, had three points on the make from long range. Pierce had four rebounds and an assist, while Bucknell poured in nine points on perfect 3-3 shooting to go with four rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Sophomore Grace Hamann also made a brief appearance in her varsity debut.
Following the Thanksgiving break, the Bears took their winning record into a Dec. 3 road conference tilt against Beckman. Liddle said the team will continue to lean into its identity and make some adjustments based on what the Bears learned from the matchup in order to prepare for their River Valley Conference foe.
1 2 3 4 T
WB 22 13 13 8 56
IV 6 16 14 11 47
West Branch statistics: Lexi Skay 2 2-9 4, 10 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block; Kennedy Simpson 9 9-20 19, 1 3-pointer, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals; Ava Burnett 3 3-6 7, 1 3-pointer, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 5 steals; Jenie Gomez 2 2-7 6, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal; Addi Schultes 3 3-7 8, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals; Katelyn Essington 1 1-4 3, 1 3-pointer; Alyssa Pierce 0 0-2 0, 4 rebounds, 1 assist; Grace Hamann 0 0-0 0; Sulli Bucknell 3 3-3 9, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals. Team totals: 23 23-58 56, 3 3-pointers, 39 rebounds, 11 assists, 15 steals, 1 block.
Iowa Valley statistics: Alannah McKibben 1 1-6 2, 6 rebounds, 3 steals; Izzy Kriegel 4 4-5 8, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal; Clara Fry 0 0-0 1, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal; Lydia Kriegel 8 8-19 23, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal; Myla Frimml 6 6-13 13, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal; Maeci Marshall 0 0-0 0, 2 rebounds, 2 assists; Rya Miller 0 0-2 0. Team totals: 19 19-45 47, 31 rebounds, 6 assists, 7 steals.
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