Girls Game
NEW SHARON – North Mahaska girls basketball coach L.E. Moore was concerned about how his No. 5 in Class 2A Warhawks would be able to compete against Class 4A’s Oskaloosa’s 6-foot 3-inch Dasia Foster. Prior to the game he said the team would need to convert on turnovers. North Mahaska led just three times, twice in the first quarter and with three seconds left when NM senior Regan Grewe hit a short jumper from the right side to give the Warhawks a 39-38 victory.
“They (Osky) played tough and we knew they would,” said Moore. “We just couldn’t convert on the turnovers. It was physical out there.”
North Mahaska forced 24 Oskaloosa turnovers including eight on steals. The Warhawks had 10 turnovers.
Foster was the force expected scoring 14 points and grabbing six rebounds before fouling out with 2 minutes 10 seconds to play. Oskaloosa led 37-34 at that point. North Mahaska center Sydney Andersen began working inside hitting a basket and went 2-for-4 at the free throw line. Her basket tied the game at 37-37 with 1:45 to play. Oskaloosa’s Haylee Parker hit one of two free throws to put Osky up 38-37.
NM senior Breckyn Schilling drove halfway down the lane then bounced a pass to the right side of the box to Grewe, who outjumped the Oskaloosa defenders for the winning shot. Oskaloosa took the ball down the floor but was unable to put up a clean shot.
“It was a good game to get us ready for the tournament next week,” said Moore. “Breckyn found Regan and she put up the shot. You got to be ready to take those shots.”
Free throws were a concern for the Warhawks, who went 5-for-12 at the line while Oskaloosa was 7-of-10. Neither team shot well from the field. North Mahaska was 26 percent while the Indians shot 29.7.
Each team grabbed 28 rebounds. Aly Steil led North Mahaska with 11. Schilling led the Warhawk scoring with 15. She added five rebounds and eight assists. Grewe finished with seven points, four rebounds and three steals. Andersen also had seven points.
Naomi Cole chipped in nine points with six rebounds and Parker added eight for Oskaloosa.
North Mahaska, 19-2, will open Class 2A tournament play Tuesday when they host the winner of the Pella Christian and Colfax-Mingo game. They play Saturday in Pella. Oskaloosa falls to 10-10 on the season and will close out the regular season at Norwalk Friday.
Boys Game
North Mahaska used a strong first quarter hitting five 3-pointers to lead 23-11 then held off Oskaloosa for a 68-60 victory Tuesday. The game was physical but NM coach Kevin Kelderman said it may help his team as they prepare for the postseason run.
“We are not a physical team and this was a tough, physical game,” said Kelderman. “They played a physical game and we did enough and got some big rebounds.”
North Mahaska jumped out quick in the first quarter when senior Gabe Hora, who finished the night with 29 points, drained three long balls. Treys by Asher DeBoef and Adrian Smith allowed the Warhawks to work with the lead all night. The Warhawks were able to maintain a double-digit lead until the fourth quarter. Oskaloosa outscored NM 22-15 in the final period.
Smith hit a jumper with 3 minutes 53 seconds to play, it would be the final basket for the Warhawks. They would hit 11-of-16 free throws to secure the victory.
Grady Kool accounted for seven points for Oskaloosa down the stretch but the Indians went 6-for-11 at the foul line in the final period.
Hora scored 11 points in the first half but was covered in the final period. He was a perfect 6-for-6 at the foul line in the final period.
“They did a good job holding Gabe down in the second half,” said Kelderman. “I thought overall we handled their pressure. We don’t see a lot of pressure like that but we were able to hit the free throws down the stretch. I thought Jack (Kelderman) made some good decisions with the ball that allowed us to control the game late.”
Smith and Asher DeBoef hit double figures in scoring with 15 and 13 respectively. Lucas Nunnikhoven and Trenton DeBruin each added five points. Smith led in rebounds with eight. DeBoef had five.
Tommy North led Oskaloosa with 21 points and six rebounds with Ethan Stek adding 18 points and six boards. Kool finished with nine points and seven rebounds.
North Mahaska (18-3) will open Class 1A tourney play Monday when they host either English Valleys of Meskwaki Settlement. They play Friday in a play-in contest. Oskaloosa, 6-13, travels to Norwalk Friday.
