The Bravettes hit Pella Christian with a balanced performance – good shooting, solid defense, sharp passing – and beat the Eagles 56-42 in the girls basketball season opener on Tuesday, Nov. 22, at home.
Pella Christian’s pressure bothered the Bravettes a bit at the start, and the visitors jumped out to a 7-0 lead.
But Montezuma cranked up its own defense after that and the game took a major turn.
Montezuma outscored the Eagles 28-13 the rest of the half, and led 28-20 at halftime.
The Bravettes didn’t allow much penetration the rest of the night, and held their own on the defensive boards.
Later on, Montezuma was effective taking the ball down low with good ball movement and some sharp passing.
Three Bravettes scored in double figures, led by senior guard Mia Boulton with 18 points.
Shiressa Wetering scored 12 points and led Montezuma with nine rebounds. Kallie Robison scored 11 points, on four-for-four from the field, and three-for-three from the line. Both girls did great jobs making themselves available for entry passes, then finishing.
The Bravettes had 11 assists from six different players. Madison Johannes led with three.
Boulton was seven-for-13 from the field on her way to 18 points.
The Bravettes shot 46 percent from the field and limited their opponents to 43 percent shooting on eight fewer attempts.
The Bravettes finished with nine turnovers, to 14 by the Eagles.
UP NEXT – The girls and boys varsity teams open SICL play at home against HLV on Tuesday, Nov. 29. The junior varsity is at Iowa Valley on Monday, Nov. 28.
JVs WIN TOO – The Montezuma junior varsity girls opened their season with a 44-28 win over Pella Christian.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Pella Christian 11 9 8 14 – 42
Montezuma 13 15 16 12 – 56
Montezuma (56)
Madison Johannes 1-4, 0-0, 3, 2. Ellen Cook 3-11, 1-2, 4, 8. Claire Erselius 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Mia Boulton 7-13, 1-1, 2, 18. Jadyn Sharer 2-4, 0-0, 0, 5. Jordan Ranfeld 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Alivia Cline 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0. Izzy Roorda 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0. Kallie Robison 4-4, 3-3, 0, 11. Shiressa Wetering 6-12, 0-0, 3, 12. TOTALS – 23-50, 5-6, 12, 56.
Pella Christian (42) – 18-42, 1-3, 10, 42.
Line score legend: Field goals made/attempted, free throws made/attempted, personal fouls, total points.
Turnovers: Montezuma 9, Pella Christian 14.
Three-pointers: Montezuma 5-18 (Boulton 3-8, Sharer 1-3, Cook 1-5, Johannes 0-1, Cline 0-1). Pella Christian 5-13.
Rebounds: Montezuma 22 (Wetering 9, Sharer 4, Johannes 3, Cook 2, Boulton 2, Robison 2).
Assists: Montezuma 11 (Johannes 3,Cook 2, Sharer 2, Boulton 2, Cline 1, Wetering 1).
Steals: Montezuma 6 (Wetering 2, Boulton 2, Cook 1, Roorda 1). Pella Christian 2.