Raiderettes scorching hot as win-streak continues
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The Mount Ayr Raiderettes are playing good basketball right now in part to their defense shutting down teams.
Last week, the Raiderettes saw their win streak go to five games with three victories and their place in the POI conference standings rose to a tie for third place at 7-2 with their overall record going to 11-4.
Since Christmas break, Mount Ayr is 5-1 and those wins all have come in a row, matching the five-game win streak they had in the first half of the season.
In this run, Mount Ayr is giving up 36.6 points a game to opposing teams while scoring 61.0 points a game themselves. That is just under five points more than their season average of offensive points at 56.7 per game.
Mount Ayr played three road games last week and will play at Stanton on Monday, January 29 before they return home to play Nodaway Valley on Tuesday, January 30 for their first home game since January 16.
The Raiderettes play at Central Decatur on Thursday in a make-up game and will end the year with a home game with East Union on Friday and another against I-35 on February 5.
This Wednesday, the postseason Regional brackets for classes 1A, 2A, and 3A will be released and Mount Ayr will find out who and where they are playing this postseason.
The Raiderettes came into the win coming off of a pair of wins over Lenox and Bedford to sweep the season series between the two schools.
Last Monday, Mount Ayr made the trip to Centerville to play the Big Reds out of the South Central Conference. There, Mount Ayr would take command of the game in the first half of a 59-27 non-conference win. The Raiderettes led 17-9 after the first quarter and used a 10-4 run in the second to lead by 14 points at halftime, 27-13. Mount Ayr led 36-21 going to the final quarter. Mount Ayr would outscore Centerville 23-5 in the final quarter to secure the win.
Mount Ayr shot 42-percent for the game. Three Mount Ayr players scored in double figures to lead in scoring. Breya Nickle led with 15 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 steals. Jaxy Knight and Izzy Gilbertson each scored 11 points. Knight had 9 rebounds and 5 steals, while Gilbertson had 6 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. Dannie Stewart added 9 points and 8 rebounds.
Last Thursday, January 25, Mount Ayr made up a game with SW Valley in Corning from a previous weather-related issue. There, Mount Ayr scored their second high point total in a game this year to beat the Timberwolves 71-39.
The win was the second over SW Valley for Mount Ayr, who beat them 60-37 in early December at home.
Mount Ayr trailed by seven points after the first quarter, but a 19-4 second-quarter run and a 22-point third quarter helped get a 71-39 win. The win was the tenth of the season for Mount Ayr.
“We got off to a slow start on both ends, but after the first quarter, we started to get into a groove. I thought after the first quarter we settled in offensively and looked for high percentage shots and our defense was much better. There is something special about this team and we haven’t hit our ceiling yet,” said Mount Ayr head coach Thad Streit.
Mount Ayr shot 43-percent for the game. Izzy Gilbertson had a monster game with a team-high 24 points and 15 rebounds for a double-double. Dannie Stewart also had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Breya Nickle and Jaxy Knight added 13 and 12 points as four of the five Raiderette starters hit double figures. Hailey Randall led SW Valley with 15 points.
The Raiderette’s last game of the week came at Wayne on Friday. There, Mount Ayr took care of business on the road, beating the Falcons 63-30. The win saw the Raiderette road record this season improve to 6-3 in nine games. Mount Ayr beat Wayne for the second straight time and ninth time in the last ten seasons.
Mount Ayr led 15-9 after the first quarter and 28-21 at halftime. A 17-4 run in the third quarter was too much for Wayne to overcome in the loss. Mount Ayr would outscore Wayne 35-9 in the second half of the game.
Breya Nickle and Izzy Gilbertson had big games with each player scoring 17 points. The two combined for 13 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals. Jaxy Knight added 11 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals. Mount Ayr shot 55-percent from the floor in the game and made 18-of-26 free throws.
“I could tell we were a little tired from the previous night, mentally and physically, but I thought this team showed some toughness again in the second half by only allowing nine points. I thought we were efficient on offense by scoring a high percentage from the free throw line, from the three-point line, and just overall,” said Streit.
Mount Ayr 59, Centerville 27
1 2 3 4 Final
MA 17 10 9 23 59
C 9 4 9 5 27
MOUNT AYR (59): Jaylee Shaffer 1-2 0-0 3, Dannie Stewart 3-6 2-3 9, Breya Nickle 5-15 3-4 15, Jaxy Knight 4-11 2-4 15, Izzy Gilbertson 5-9 0-2 11, Abby Larson 3-5 0-0 8, MaKel Jones 0-3 0-0 0, Tatum Friedrich 0-0 0-0 0, Adalynn Dredge 0-0 0-0 0, Keely Wasterney 0-0 0-0 0, Kacie Larsen 0-0 0-0 0, Allison Anderson 0-0 0-0 0, Karly Elwood 1-1 0-0 2, Kensie Barnes 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 22-52 7-13 59.
3-Pt. FG: 8-21 (Larson 2-2, Nickle 2-6, Knight 1-4, Gilbertson 1-3, Stewart 1-2, Shaffer 1-2). Rebounds: 38 (Knight 9, Stewart 8, Nickle 7, Gilbertson 6, Jones 4, Elwood 2, Shaffer 1, Larson 1). Assists: 20 (Nickle 6, Knight 3, Gilbertson 3, Stewart 3, Shaffer 2, Larson 2, Jones 1). Steals: 15 (Nickle 5, Knight 5, Jones 2, Stewart 1, Gilbertson 1, Larson 1). Blocked Shots: 14 (Gilbertson 5, Knight 3, Nickle 3, Elwood 2, Shaffer 1). Total Fouls: 11. Fouled Out: none.
Mount Ayr 71, SW Valley 39
1 2 3 4 Final
MA 10 19 22 20 71
SWV 17 4 13 5 39
MOUNT AYR (71): Jaylee Shaffer 0-4 0-0 0, Dannie Stewart 7-11 1-4 15, Breya Nickle 4-13 4-8 13, Jaxy Knight 4-8 0-2 12, Izzy Gilbertson 10-19 4-10 24, Abby Larson 0-2 0-0 0, MaKel Jones 0-1 0-0 0, Keeley Wasteney 0-1 0-0 0, Karly Elwood 3-5 1-3 7, Kensie Barnes 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 28-64 10-27 71.
3-Pt. FG: 5-20 (Knight 4-7, Nickle 1-4, Stewart 0-3, Shaffer 0-3, Jones 0-1). Rebounds: 53 (Gilbertson 15, Stewart 10, Nickle 9, Knight 6, Shaffer 4, Larson 3, Jones 3, Wasteney 2, Barnes 1). Assists: 25 (Stewart 6, Shaffer 5, Knight 5, Gilbertson 3, Larson 3, Jones 1, Barnes 1, Nickle 1). Steals: 19 (Stewart 4, Nickle 4, Knight 4, Shaffer 3, Gilbertson 2, Larson 1, Jones 1, Barnes 1). Blocked Shots: 2 (Stewart 1, Gilbertson 1). Total Fouls: 12. Fouled Out: none.
Mount Ayr 63, Wayne 30
1 2 3 4 Final
MA 15 13 17 18 63
W 9 12 4 5 30
MOUNT AYR (30): Jaylee Shaffer 3-5 0-0 7, Dannie Stewart 3-5 2-2 8, Breya Nickle 4-7 9-11 17, Jaxy Knight 4-10 1-4 11, Izzy Gilbertson 6-95-7 17, Abby Larson 0-1 1-2 1, MaKel Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Adalynn Dredge 0-0 0-0 0, Karly Elwood 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 21-38 18-26 63.
3-Pt. FG: 3-7 (Knight 2-4, Shaffer 1-2, Nickle 0-1). Rebounds: 35 (Stewart 9, Gilbertson 8, Nickle 7, Knight 5, Shaffer 3, Larson 2, Elwood 1). Assists: 28 (Nickle 6, Knight 6, Shaffer 6, Stewart 5, Larson 2, Jones 2, Elwood 1). Steals: 12 (Knight 3, Stewart 2, Nickle 2, Gilbertson 2, Larson 1, Jones 1, Elwood 1). Blocked Shots: 5 (Stewart 2, Nickle 1, Knight 1, Gilbertson 1). Total Fouls: 13. Fouled Out: none.