Spurred by their defense, the unbeaten Montezuma Bravettes passed yet another early test, racing past Sigourney 67-35 at home Thursday evening, Dec. 19.
The Bravettes gave up some easy baskets in the first quarter, and trailed by as many as five points in the second. But then, they set the hooks on defense.
Before long, the Bravettes had reeled in a big one.”We are playing very solid and I’m excited with the growth we’ve shown through a very tough schedule,” Montezuma Coach Janel Burgess said.
Montezuma led 29-24 at halftime. The third quarter was one the seventh-ranked, now 6-2 Savages might prefer to forget.
The top-rated Bravettes, now 8-0, scored the first 15 points of the quarter.
Montezuma was on every loose ball and its transition game was deadly.
Shateah Wetering scored nine points in the last 90 seconds of the period as Montezuma shot out to a 48-26 lead.
The Bravettes are a deeper team and the Savages struggled to keep up. Sigourney prefers a half-court game, while the Bravettes want to go up-tempo – and did.
Montezuma’s defense helped to induce 25 Sigourney turnovers and was a factor in .375 shooting by the Savages, who put up 29 fewer attempts from the field.
“Our defense continues to grow and our team unity is very fun to watch grow,” Burgess said.
The second half was a 36-11 second half stampede for the Bravettes.
Indicative was one play where Shateah Wetering grabbed a defensive rebound, then streaked downcourt and went around and by a pair of defenders who appeared to have position, and scored a layup.
Shateah Wetering scored 23 points on 10-for-15 shooting. She threw in team highs in rebounds with 9, assists with four, steals with 5 and deflections with two.
Montezuma shot .459 from the field, including .571 from two-point range. When an extra pass was needed in order to get a better shot, that pass was made.
Elise Boulton and Dylan Holland each scored 10 points and had five rebounds. Mia Boulton dropped in a trio of treys for nine.
Elise Boulton made some nifty moves out front, helping get her to four-for-10 field goal shooting. She also grabbed four rebounds, had three deflections, three steals and led the Bravettes with two blocked shots.
Shelby Conger snagged five rebounds. Carissa Van Zee splashed down two three-pointers. Maddy McKeag dished two assists and had three steals.
You get the idea . . .it was a team win, again, and many contributed much.
“We still have areas to grow and we will focus on that after a much-deserved six days off,” Burgess said.
Megan Stuhr scored 15 points to lead Sigourney. Kaylee Weber scored 14 and had 10 rebounds.
This was the only regular season meeting between these two teams, who met for the regional championship last season.
UP NEXT – The Bravettes resume play Friday, Jan. 3, at Earlham.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Sigourney 14 10 2 9 – 35
Monteuzma 11 18 19 19 – 67
MONTEZUMA (67): Maddy McKeag 0-5, 1-2, 1, 1. Shanae Wetering 1-2, 0-0, 1, 1. Mia Boulton 4-9, 0-0, 0, 9. Shateah Wetering 10-15, 2-2, 0, 23. Elise Boulton 4-9, 0-0, 0, 10. Carissa Van Zee 2-2, 0-0, 2, 6. Shelby Conger 2-12, 0-0, 1, 4. Waverly Roroda 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0. Dylan Holland 5-10, 0-0, 2, 10. Madelyn DeJong 1-1, 0-0, 2, 2. TOTALS – 28-61, 3-4, 9, 67.
SIGOURNEY (35)
TOTALS – 12-32, 809, 6, 35.
Line score legend: Field goals made-attempted, free throws made-attempted, personal fouls, total points.
Turnovers: Montezuma 8, Sigourney 25.
Rebounds: Montezuma 28 (Shat. Wetering 9, Conger 5, Holland 5, E. Boulton 4, M. Boulton 2); Sigourney 22.
Three-point goals: Montezuma 8-26 (M. Boulton 3, E. Boulton 2, Van Zee 2, Shat. Wetering 1).
Montezuma assists leaders: Shat. Wetering 4, M. Boulton 3, McKeag 2, Van Zee 2.
Montezuma steals leaders: Shat. Wetering 5, McKeag 3, Shan. Wetering 3.
Montezuma deflections leaders: Shat. Wetering 4, E. Boulton 3, Holland 3.
Montezuma blocks: E. Boulton 2, Shat. Wetering 1.
