ALBURNETT – BCMoore Rankings made Alburnett a .22 of a point favorite over Montezuma before the teams met on the court Monday night, Jan. 23.
Less than a quarter of a point? That’s pretty tight!
But, that’s how the real game turned out to be.
The Class 2A Pirates made the decisive plays in the game’s final minute, and picked up a 42-39 victory in a defensive, physical battle that had all the intensity of a playoff game.
Let’s start at the 3:16 mark of the fourth quarter, when the Bravettes found post player Kallie Robison inside for a basket and a 37-34 Montezuma lead.
The pressing Bravettes were within a gnat’s eyelash of forcing a Pirates turnover when Alburnett was granted a time-out, one that left a bunch of Bravettes’ fans hoarse.
Alburnett drew a foul on the inbounds, made one free throw, then Peyton Scott made a rebound basket to tie it at 37-37 with 1:41 left to play.
The Bravettes missed a couple of trey attempts and the Pirates missed the front end of a one-and-bonus. It was Montezuma’s ball with 1:01 left, and Mia Boulton got free for a basket to put the Bravettes up 39-37.
Savannah Caves, a 5-6 junior, then hit the biggest trey of the game, making it 40-39 for the Pirates with 50 seconds left.
Caves later missed a two-shot free throw attempt, but the ball was out of bounds off Montezuma with just 10 seconds remaining.
Ellen Cook was called for a foul on Caves, and she made both free throws to push the lead to 42-39.
The Bravettes got off a trey attempt ahead of the buzzer, but like so many three-pointers for both teams in this game, this bid to tie the game missed.
Ellen Cook scored 13 points for the Bravettes, while Montezuma’s leading scorer, Mia Boulton, had to work hard to find open shots. She scored nine points.
Ally Olmstead, a 6-2 junior and Alburnett’s only really tall player, was tough inside and scored 20 points. Olmstead also had 14 rebounds, leading Alburnett to a commanding 36-22 lead in this department.
Montezuma’s defensive pressure helped lead to 19 Alburnett turnovers, but the Bravettes made 14. Both teams have quick defenders, who got in each other’s grill work. Whatever you did on offense, it was contested.
Alburnett’s quick, athletic defense pushed the Bravettes deep into the wings for many of their three-point attempts. The Bravettes returned the favor and Alburnett drew iron on many of its long shots.
Montezuma was four-for-25 from three-point range, 16 percent. Alburnett was two-for-14 for 14.3 percent.
Montezuma shot .286 from the field. Both teams made 16 field goals, but Alburnett required 15 fewer attempts in shooting .390.
Kallie Robison was strong in the post for the Bravettes, scoring eight points on four-for-five shooting.
The loss dropped the Bravettes to 14-1 overall.
Alburnett went to 9-7. They play in the Tri-Rivers Conference, which boasts top-rated North Linn and traditional powers like Springville and East Buchanan.
Bravettes Coach Janel Burgess picked up Alburnett on the schedule when the opportunity to play a good team became available. A first defeat of the season often doesn’t do a team a lot of good going forward – but this was the second. Will it help? Time will tell.
UP NEXT – Montezuma hosts BGM on Friday, Jan. 27.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Montezuma 12 9 8 10 – 39
Alburnett 12 10 7 13 – 42
MONTEZUMA (39)
Madison Johannes 1-8, 0-0, 2, 2. Ellen Cook 5-19, 1-2, 2, 13. Mia Boulton 3-11, 2-4, 2, 9. Jadyn Sharer 0-4, 0-0, 1, 0. Kallie Robison 4-5, 0-0, 2, 8. Izzy Roorda 1-3, 0-0, 2, 3. Claire Erselius 0-1, 0-0, 3, 0. Shiressa Wetering 2-5, 0-0, 3, 4. TOTALS – 16-56, 3-6, 17, 39.
ALBURNETT (42)
TOTALS – 16-41, 8-16, 12, 42.
Line score legend: field goals made-attempted, free throws made-attempted, personal fouls, total points.
Three-pointers: Montezuma 4-25 (Cook 2-11, Roorda 1-2, Boulton 1-4, Johannes 0-4, Sharer 0-3, Erselius 0-1); Alburnett 2-14.
Turnovers: Montezuma 14, Alburnett 19.
Rebounds: Montezuma 22 (Johannes 5, Wetering 4, Boulton 3, Sharer 3, Robison 3, Roorda 2, Cook 2); Alburnett 36.
Assists: Montezuma 7 (Boulton 4, Johannes 1, Cook 1, Sharer 1); Alburnett 10.
Steals: Montezuma 10 (Boulton 4, Johannes 2, Cook 2, Sharer 1, Roorda 1); Alburnett – 10.