LoMa 48, Mt. Ayr 35
The basketball season came to an end for the Mount Ayr Raiderettes in the gym their season began, Red Oak. Only this time they were facing The Logan-Magnolia Panthers for a shot to go to the finals for a State Tournament berth.
In the low scoring affair, in which both teams were held well below their averages, the Panthers came out on top 48-35, but after a scrappy 32 minutes of basketball.
The Panthers held Raiderette scoring leader, Sam Stewart, to nine points. The Peru State commit was four-of-11 inside the paint and zero-for-four from the arc.
Stewart collected just one steal against the Panthers, while Jaycee Knight led the team in steals with three and scored five points, hitting three-of-four from the line and one from inside the lane.
The two teams went into halftime with a two-point spread in favor of the Panthers
Heading into the second half the night, Logan-Magnolia turned on the jets to outscore the Raiderettes 19-11 in the third as the Raiderettes struggled under the hoop.
In the final minutes of the game, the Panthers went into a stall and found themselves at the line often as the Raiderettes intentionally fouled to regain possession of the ball and attempt a comeback.
Logan-Magnolia standout Kylie Morrison scored 23 points for the Panthers, going three-for14 inside the paint and two-for-five from the arc, but 11-of-11 at the line.
The Panthers shot 32 percent from the field, while the Raiderettes only shot 22 percent.
“I thought both teams played tremendous defense and both teams played extremely hard,” said coach Thad Streit. “When it came down to it we missed some big shots and they made some big shots, especially in the third quarter. We had a great year and this game should not define our season. We won 19 games and were conference champs and broke some school records. This was a great team. I want to thank everyone who made the trip to Red Oak and supported us. Mount Ayr always travels well and we had twice as many fans as they did. I want to thank Jaycee and Sam for great leadership and heard work. They will be missed on and off the court.”
Stats
1 2 3 4 F
MA 7 7 11 10 35
LM 7 9 19 13 48
Offense
Pts FG 3 FT
M.Jones 3 0-6 1-5 2-2
M.Stewart 5 2-6 0-3 1-2
P.Lambert 0 0-0 0-0 0-0
C.Henle 7 2-6 1-3 2-2
S.Stewart 9 4-11 0-4 1-1
J.Knight 5 1-5 0-3 3-4
Whittington 0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Anderson 0 0-2 0-0 0-0
R.Sobotka 2 0-4 1-1 1-2
Defense
R Ast S B
M.Jones 2 0 0 0
M.Stewart 5 4 2 0
P.Lambert 0 0 0 0
C.Henle 6 0 1 0
S.Stewart 6 1 1 0
J.Knight 5 0 3 1
Whittington 0 0 0 0
Anderson 0 0 0 0
R.Sobotka 2 0 0 0
Mt. Ayr 73, Earlham 51
The Raiderettes faced Earlham in the quarterfinal round of regional basketball on February 18.
Earlham jumped ahead early in the contest but Mount Ayr held on and took control midway through the game.
Sam Stewart scored 35 points to help lead the Raiderettes to victory, while Channler Henle and Rachel Sobotka teamed up for 12 points each.
Sobotka led the team in rebounds with eight, while also snagging three steals on the night.
The Raiderettes ball hawking defense kept Earlham shooters out of the game, with Mount Ayr creating 17 turnovers.
Leading the team in steals was Sam Stewart with eight.
“Another gutsy performance by our girls. We were in a tight game and then all of a sudden in the middle of the third we just found a way and blew it open,” said coach Streit. “You know you have a special group when you come in at halftime and they are talking about adjustments among themselves.”
Stats
1 2 3 4 F
MA 15 13 22 23 73
EC 17 9 9 16 51
Offense
Pts FG 3 FT
M.Jones 0 0-0 0-0 0-1
M.Stewart 9 3-5 1-2 2-2
P.Lambert 0 0-0 0-0 0-0
C.Henle 12 4-11 0-2 4-4
S.Stewart 35 15-25 1-1 4-4
J.Knight 3 1-3 0-1 1-2
Whittington 0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Anderson 2 1-1 0-0 0-0
R.Sobotka 12 5-110-0 2-5
H.Barnes 0 0-1 0-0 0-0
Defense
R Ast S B
M.Jones 2 0 1 0
M.Stewart 2 3 2 0
P.Lambert 0 0 0 0
C.Henle 7 3 2 0
S.Stewart 7 5 8 0
J.Knight 7 0 1 0
Whittington 0 0 0 0
Anderson 4 0 0 0
R.Sobotka 8 1 3 0
H.Barnes 1 0 0 0
The Raiderettes finished out the season 19-4 officially after falling to Logan-Magnolia last Friday night in Red Oak.
The Raiderettes will graduate Jaycee Knight and Sam Stewart.
“This is honestly one of the best seasons I’ve had in any sport,” said senior Sam Stewart. “We’ve been so close and I think that’s what helped us get so far.”
“It’s sad [to lose] but I’m happy we have accomplished all that we have this year,” said coach Jaycee Knight. “I think that our chemistry this year really helped us and if they [the underclassman] stay close and work hard together I think they can accomplish a lot.”
Check back next week for a season recap of the Raiderettes, that will include season stats and team leaders.
