Sophomore Dani Stromert scored the final four points of the game from the free-throw line in the final minute to lift Jefferson past Prairie, 46-43, on Dec. 3 in a Mississippi Valley Conference girls’ basketball game at Jefferson.
Each half was a different game. Prairie (1-3, 0-2 MVC) dominated every phase of the game in the first half. The Hawks were clearly the more aggressive team and built a 25-9 lead by halftime.
In the second half the J-Hawks (2-1, 2-0) played a much more disruptive defense, dominated the boards, ran their offense with more composure and hit their free throws.
The defense on both teams was a force difficult to reckon with. Jefferson ended with 31 turnovers and Prairie had 21.
The J-Hawks were led in scoring by sophomore Taylor Jacobson with 12 second-half points and 15 overall. Sophomore Rachel Broghammer and senior Britteny Steffeny each contributed eight points, six each in the second half. Stromert’s only four points came in the last minute.
“When I got to the line, I just knew I needed to make them. I work on free throws every day in practice and it paid off,” Stromert said. “We just hustled more in the second half and I knew I had to have them.”
Prairie sophomore Alisa Weiland led all scorers with 18 points and freshman Madison Dellamuth added 13. Dellamuth seemed to be the most composed player on the floor for either team and when she went down with a cramp in the last minute it certainly didn’t help the Prairie cause.
“Delamuth is amazing. She sees the floor so well and she did a tremendous job running the team. Weiland’s fantastic shooting opened up our offense, and Katie Weiland and (Katie) Carver worked so hard on the inside. We played with great effort, it’s that third quarter that is causing us problems,” explained Prairie Coach Steve Doser.
“They out performed us in every part of the game. We were blown out of the gym in that first half,” said J-Hawks Coach Larry Niemeyer. “In the second half we hustled on defense, we blocked out on the boards and ran our offense. We dug ourselves out of a deep hole.”
Next up for the J-Hawks is a nonconference game Saturday at Keokuk. Prairie hosts conference foe Cedar Falls Tuesday.
Jefferson’s sophomores won 57-42. Cyerra Hutchins scored 19 points for Prairie and Maddie Koolbeck had 19 for Jeffersonl
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it " mce_href="mailto: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it "> This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
