Mount Ayr sweeps Lenox

The Mount Ayr hoop teams picked up a key Pride of Iowa Conference sweep over Lenox last week in the first meeting of the season between the schools.

The Raideretttes survived a spirited effort by the Tigers to take a 55-51 win while the Raider boys team also beat Lenox, 57-42.

Both Mount Ayr teams sit at the top of the POI standings as the current week begins.

The Raiderettes began the week with a home game against rival Lenox.  The two programs have had some battles over the years, and renewed their rivalry for the first of two meetings this year last Tuesday.

The Tigers came in with nothing to lose, but Mount Ayr didn’t care, as they took a 19-6 lead in the first quarter. The Tigers settled into the game in the second quarter and got things going, out-scoring Mount Ayr 24-11 in the second quarter to tie the game at 30-30 at halftime.

Mount Ayr would put some distance between themselves and the Tigers in the third quarter scoring six more points than the Tigers in the quarter to take a 47-41 lead to the final quarter.

In the final quarter, the Tigers and Raiderettes were stuck on the score of 52-47 Mount Ayr for many possessions before Lenox got the Mount Ayr lead to three points, 52-49 with about a minute left, but could get no closer.

Mount Ayr had a pair of double figure scorers led by Izzy Gilbertson with 18 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists.  Jaylee Shaffer scored 14 points and Breya Nickle had 8 points and 4 rebounds.

The Tigers were led by the 1-2 punch of seniors Zoey Reed and Sadie Cox with 15 and 12 points.  Junior Delaney Funk added 9 points.  Cox had a double-double adding 12 rebounds while Curtis had 6 and Funk had 5.  Funk also had 5 assists.

The loss snapped a three-game win streak by Lenox while Mount Ayr won their tenth straight game to start the season.  The win by the Raiderettes was their fifth straight over Lenox and 28th in the last 32 meetings between the schools since 2007.  The two teams will play in Lenox on January 28.

In the boys game, the week started for Mount Ayr with a big win over Lenox 57-42.

The Tigers have one of the stars of the POI in senior Gabe Funk.  The multi-sport star is best known for battles with recent Mount Ayr graduate Ryce Reynolds in track.

The Raiders did a good job defensively on Funk.  Though they surrendered 18 points to him, it took 16 shots to get there for him.  The Tigers did not have another double-digit scorer in the game as the next scorer was Jack Reed with 6 and Dayton Tull and Brogan Petersen with 5 points each.

The Raiders took a 6-point, 20-14 lead after the first quarter and extended their lead to nine points, 28-19 at halftime.  The Raiders scored 18 points in the third quarter and added four points to their lead by the end of the quarter, 46-33.  The Raiders would keep the Tigers at bay in the final quarter, out-scoring them 11-9 in the final quarter to capture the 15-point win.

Mount Ayr was led by junior Jackson Ruggles who poured in 27 points, had 7 rebounds, and 6 assists.  Ruggles was on fire from outside, making 4-of-6 three pointers.  Tyler Martin and Adler Reed chipped in 7 points.  Martin led the Raiders in rebounds with 9.

The Raiders won their fifth straight game of the season with the win over Lenox.  The two teams will meet again on January 28 in Lenox. The win was the 16th straight for Mount Ayr over Lenox since February of 2017.

Tuesday, January 7 at Mount Ayr

        1    2    3    4    Final

L      6    24   11  10     51

MA  19  11   17   8     55

LENOX (51): Zoey Reed 41-5 7-8 15, Delaney Funk 4-4 0-0 9, Izzy Curtis 2-4 1-2 6, Bentley Petersen 0-3 0-0 0, Piper Brokaw 2-9 0-0 6, Reese Reed 1-4 0-0 3, Sadie Cox 5-14 2-2 12.  Totals; 18-53 10-12 51.

MOUNT AYR (55): Jaylee Shaffer 5-10 0-0 14, Dannie Stewart 2-5 0-2 4, Breya Nickle 3-9 1-1 9, Jaxy Knight 2-10 3-4 7, Izzy Gilbertson 7-12 4-5 18, Abby Larson 0-1 0-0 0, MaKel Jones 1-6 1-2 4, Tatum Friedrich 0-0 0-3 0, Keely Wasteney 0-2 0-0 0.  Totals: 20-55 9-17 55.

3-Pt. FG: Lenox 5-17 (Brokaw 2-6, R. Reed 1-1, Funk 1-1, Curtis 1-2, Z. Reed 0-6, Cox 0-1), MA 6-25 (Shaffer 4-7, Nickle 1-5, Jones 1-4, Knight 0-6, Gilbertson 0-2, Larson 0-1).  Rebounds: Lenox 34 (Cox 12, Curtis 6, Funk 5), MA 35 (Gilbertson 12, Knight 7, Nickle 4, Shaffer 4, Jones 3, Stewart 2, Wasteney 2, Friedrich 1).  Assists: Lenox 15 (Funk 5), MA 17 (Gilbertson 4, Knight 4, Jones 3, Shaffer 3, Nickle 2, Stewart 1).  Steals: Lenox 10 (Cox 4), MA 14 (Knight 7, Jones 3, Shaffer 3, Gilbertson 1).  Blocked Shots: 3 (Cox 2), MA 2 (Gilbertson 1, Jones 1).  Turnovers: Lenox 17, Mount Ayr 17.  Total Fouls: Lenox 14, Mount Ayr 13.  Fouled Out: Lenox none.  Mount Ayr none.

Tuesday, January 7 at Mount Ayr

1    2    3    4     Final

L 14  5   14  9       42

MA 20 8  18 11        57

LENOX (42): Cade Cordell 1-3 0-0 2, Laramie Stoakes 1-11 2-4 4, Dayton Tull 2-4 0-0 5, Gabe Funk 6-16 2-3 18, Brody Brokaw 1-2 0-0 2, Jack Reed 3-6 0-0 6, Brogan Petersen 2-4 0-0 5, Owen Grundman 0-0 0-0 0.  Totals: 16-46 4-7 42.

MOUNT AYR (57): Jackson Ruggles 10-16 3-4 27, Trevin Victor 1-4 0-0 3, Jaize Frost 2-3 1-2 5, Tyler Martin 2-14 1-1 7, Tate Dugan 3-4 0-0 6, Hayes Stogdill 0-1 0-0 0, Adler Reed 3-5 1-2 7, Louden Main 1-4 0-0 2.  Totals: 22-51 7-10 57.

3-Pt. FG: MA 6-16 (Ruggles 4-6, Martin 1-6, Victor 1-4).  Rebounds MA 25 (Martin 9, Ruggles 7, Frost 3, Dugan 2, Reed 2, Stogdill 1, Main 1).  Assists: MA 15 (Ruggles 6, Martin 3, Dugan 2, Main 2, Victor 1, Stogdill 1).  Steals: MA 12 (Dugan 3, Reed 3, Martin 3, Frost 2, Ruggles 1). Blocked Shots: MA 4 (Dugan 2, Frost 1, Ruggles 1).  Turnovers: MA 7.  Total Fouls: MA 11.  Fouled Out: none.