High School Basketball
The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team’s lack of offense in the second and fourth quarters buried them in their loss to Danville last night, 58-42. Abigail Shelangoski led the way for the Panthers, scoring 13 points in the effort. The story of the night was the Bears’ defense as the press led to multiple steals and huge games for Alivia Bauer (20 points) and Alaina Gourley (19 points) as they combined for 39 points. Despite the gaudy numbers, Danville head coach Matt Morris needed everyone to have their moment last night,
“I was really proud of the kids and our coaching staff made some good adjustments defensively and I thought our energy, that led to good defense and good energy and that got the tempo kind of where we wanted it. And, you know, if we can get up and down the court, you know, with Alaina and Alivia and, you know, Brynley [Wenig], Claire [Montgomery], these girls, and then start making plays. I thought it was a really good team win, really. I thought our younger kids came off the bench, made some huge shots for us defensively, they got at it, so overall, we’re very proud of our team.”
West Burlington will fly to Danville tonight with the girls’ playing first at 6 pm. Coach Morris and his team will take on two of the three teams sitting above them in the Conference standings, he knows this will be an arduous week,
“The other thing I complimented them on tonight, and we’ll continue to find it as a value, is I know we don’t have a big bench, but I really thought it took all of our girls tonight showing up and participating. Even Violet [Sowell], who was injured, you know, she was vocal on the bench and encouraging her teammates and stuff. So yeah, to me, it’s all about the team for the week and using everybody we have at the right spot, right time.”
The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team will take on #10 Oskaloosa tonight with tip-off at 7:30 pm on the road. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 7:15 pm.
Burlington Notre Dame split their senior night showdown with Wapello last night, as the Arrows scored 29 fourth quarter points to pull away with a 57-38 victory over the Nikes in the girls’ game, while the #3 Notre Dame boys’ team crushed Wapello 83-47. Macey Kuntz led the Wapello girls’ team with 20 points.
Mediapolis will tangle with Burlington Notre Dame tonight at home with the girls’ playing first at 6 pm.
Wapello will host Hillcrest Academy tonight with game one at 6 pm.
The WACO girls’ team dominated Iowa Valley last night, 62-35, allowing only 13 points in the second half. The Warriors will take on Lone Tree tonight with the doubleheader starting at 6 pm.
Van Buren County swept Columbus last night with the girls’ team winning 47-41 and the boys’ team coming up with a 58-48 final.
Holy Trinity Catholic will face off against Van Buren County at home tonight with game one at 6 pm.
Columbus will tangle with Winfield-Mt. Union on Friday, January 23rd, at home with the girls’ teams playing at 6 pm.
The Fairfield boys’ team will face off against Pella Christian at home tonight at 7:30 pm.
New London will compete against Central Lee tonight at home with game one at 6 pm.
Winfield-Mt. Union will welcome Highland tonight with the night beginning at 6 pm.
High School Boys’ Basketball Rankings
The Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) released their fourth edition of the boys’ basketball rankings and only three new teams entered the rankings, while Class 1A had no movement.
Burlington Notre Dame kept their spot at #3 in the Class 1A standings after winning both of their games last week by double digits. The Nikes are winning their games by nearly 29 points, yet their points allowed per game currently ranks 32nd in the state. Nevertheless, the Notre Dame offense hits 51% of their field goals, including an insane 67% shooter from Shay Stephens, who is averaging 26 points to go along with nine rebounds and seven assists per game.
Cedar Falls for Class 4A, Ballard in Class 3A, Class 2A’s Unity Christian, and St. Edmond of Class 1A kept their top spots in their respective classes.
High School Wrestling
The Wapello girls’ team held a quad last night and finished the night 2-1, defeating Cardinal, 35-12, and Washington, 30-24, but fell to Muscatine 66-12. Kenadee Helscher and Clara Ball finished the night undefeated.
The WACO, Fairfield, Wapello, and Mediapolis girls’ teams will compete at the Louisa-Muscatine Invite on Saturday, January 24th.
Mt. Pleasant will travel to Fairfield on Thursday, January 22nd.
The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union boys’ team will head to Louisa-Muscatine on Thursday for a triangular.
The Burlington Notre Dame boys’ team will duel Wapello on the road on Thursday.
Van Buren County will host a triangular on Thursday with WACO making the trip.
New London will welcome Mediapolis on Thursday for a triangular.
High School Bowling
Mt. Pleasant will host Fairfield on Thursday, January 22nd.
Southeastern Community College
The women’s basketball team will square off against Iowa Central Community College at 5:30 pm tomorrow, January 21st.
The men’s basketball team will head back home on Saturday, January 24th, to take on Marshalltown Community College at 7 pm.
The women’s wrestling team will compete at the Warrior Open on Friday, January 23rd.
The men’s wrestling team will participate in the Stormin’ Norman Tournament on Saturday.
College Basketball
The Iowa State women’s team will search for answers tomorrow, January 21st, at home at 6:30 pm against Cincinnati.
The #10 Iowa women’s team will travel to Maryland on Thursday, January 22nd, at 5 pm.
The Iowa men’s team will host Rutgers tonight at 7:30 pm.
The #9 Iowa State men’s team will compete against UCF tonight at home at 6 pm.
This Day in Sports History
1968 – The Houston Cougars defeat the UCLA Bruins 71-69 to win basketball’s Game of the Century and end UCLA’s 47-game winning streak.
1989 – Pittsburgh center Mario Lemieux becomes just the 2nd player in NHL history to score 50 goals in less than 50 games; #50 in the 44th game as the Penguins lose 7-3 to the Jets in Winnipeg.
2007 – Utah coach Jerry Sloan passes Larry Brown for 4th on the NBA’s all-time win list (1,010) after the Jazz beat the Chicago Bulls 95-85 at the United Center.