Mount Ayr middle schoolers get season underway
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The Mount Ayr middle school girl’s basketball team has begun play this season with a couple of games under their belts.
The Raiderettes traveled to Bedford last week and saw two defeats. The 8th graders fell 36-21 and the 7th graders fell 26-21.
Mount Ayr played Martensdale-St. Mary’s on Monday, November 20.
After playing SW Valley earlier, Mount Ayr had a quick turnaround, traveling to Bedford for their second game in two nights.
“We knew going in it would be a tough environment with a small court and a rowdy crowd. The 8th-grade girls came out and were a little shocked by the physical nature of the game to start,” said coach Josh Vanderflught.
“Bedford pressed and really played physically, jumping out to an early lead. We finally settled in and held our own after Bedford took a big lead in the first quarter,” he said.
Bedford led 26-8 at halftime. After halftime, the Raiderettes would win the second half, out-scoring the Bulldogs 13-10 to set the final at 36-21.
Emma Reynolds led Mount Ayr scorers with 11 points. Five others scored two points each Emily Knox, Sophia West, Mackenzie Jackson, Talyn Greene, and Kate Newton. Others who played but did not score were Abbie Case, Teyanna Combs, and Claire Routh.
The seventh graders also struggled to get in the flow of things to start the game as well early but led 9-8 at halftime.
“We really focused on running our offense but still struggled to make the initial cuts to get things going. This makes it easy on the defense, as we don’t move a whole lot. Despite struggling to initiate our offense, we still managed to play decent defense and took a lead into the half,” said Vanderflught.
Mount Ayr would hold a 17-16 lead after three quarters, but Bedford used their size to help a 1-4 run in the final quarter to beat the Raiderettes 26-21.
Kenleigh Fooken led Mount Ayr scorers with 11 while Talyn Greene scored 4 points. Bralyn Martin and McKinley Vanderflught each scored two points. Playing but not scoring were Irais Trujillo, Abbie Case, Teyanna Combs, and Mackenzie Jackson.
The Raiderettes began their season with a home game against SW Valley. The 8th grade Mount Ayr team won 44-5 while the 7th grade team fell in a close game, 34-27.
The 8th-grade team dominated the game from start to finish with a very tough man-to-man defense that led to a number of easy baskets on the other end.
Emma Reynolds completely controlled the game, scoring all 21 of her points in the first half. Claire Routh and Emily Knox played very hard, securing several rebounds each and stifling the Timberwolf offense inside.
The Raiderettes led 30-4 at the half. The Raiderettes switched to zone in the second half to get some game reps with another defense. The zone didn’t generate as many easy baskets, but only allowed 1 point in the second half, leading to a final score of 44-5.
Reynolds led in scoring with 21 points and Knox finished with 7 points. Sophia West, Abbie Case, and Teyanna Combs each scored four points. Mackenzie Jackson and Kate Newton each scored 2 points. Playing, but not scoring were Talyn Greene, and Claire Routh.
The Mount Ayr 7th grade team only has five players. In their first middle school action, the 7th graders had to learn on the fly against a tough SWV team that had already played three games. Kenleigh Fooken led the Raiderettes with 13 points. Bralyn Martin added 6 points. The Raiderettes trailed by double digits late in the game but never gave up.
They made a run down the stretch but fell by a score of 34-27.
Kenleigh Fooken and Bralyn Marting led in scoring with 13 and 6 points. Maci Birkenholz scored four while Talyn Greene and Mackenzie Jackson each had 2 points.
Playing, but not scoring were McKinley Vanderflught, Irais Trujillo, Abbie Case, Teyanna Combs, and Kate Newton.
“We learned a lot from our first game experience and have things to work on in practice. We know we have to play aggressively on both ends of the floor and go after the ball. We have a better idea of what we do well and what we need to improve, so we will make adjustments and get better each day,” said Mount Ayr coach Josh Vanderflught.
