EDDYVILLE – In hard-played game of runs, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont (EBF) had the longer, more productive streaks, and emerged with a 65-56 win over the Montezuma girls on Friday, Feb. 3.
The win lifted the Rockets, the fourth-ranked team in Class 2A, to 19-0 on the season.
For the Bravettes, it likely was a season’s best performance in a number of areas. The fans in Eddyville didn’t stand up and cheer at the end. They stood and applauded quietly and you had to suspect they were saluting both teams.
“We fought against a VERY good EBF team and had opportunities, but did not pull out a win,” said Bravettes Coach Janel Burgess. “I do know that we grew a lot from the loss and it showed even on Saturday night at Iowa Valley.”
The Bravettes, a Class 1A school with a 16-3 mark, didn’t get to the top of this mountain, but for a while it looked like an attainable goal.
The Rockets are a tall team with players who move well. They have four girls on their roster who stand 6-0 – Montezuma doesn’t have one – and they towered over the Bravetes during pre-game introductions.
They were around the boards, always, and got out to a 19-13 first quarter lead. It went to 23-13, but Montezuma emerged from a timeout with some adjustments, and outscored the Rockets 21-5 during the last 6 minutes of the second quarter, to lead 34-28 at halftime.
But EBF’s run was coming – 22-11 in the third quarter. Passes to the wing, then inside to a cutter beat the Bravettes to the basket.
Montezuma stayed close with good ball movement and three-pointers. The Bravettes sank eight of them in the first half, but just four more after that. They had to fire some up quickly after falling behind by more than five points in the closing minutes.
EBF’s long-armed zone clogged the lane and made it difficult for the Bravettes to run their mid-range game. But, the post was open at times, and Montezuma took advatage.
Guard Mia Boulton dished six assists, most to post player Kallie Robison for layups.
Seven different Bravettes scored. Ellen Cook and Boulton led with 12 each and Robison scored 10 on 5-for-6 shooting.
The Rockets kept the ball moving over and around Montezuma’s defense and wound up assisting 18 of their 26 field goals.
Molly Shafer, who stands 6-0, scored 22 points and had 4 assists. Whitney Klyn, 5-10, scored 21 points, with 4 assists.
Ava Eastlick, at 5-4, scored 14 points.
Katie Shafer, 6-0, had 8 rebounds – and 6 assists.
BC Moore Rankings made EBF a 19-point favorite in this game.
UP NEXT – Montezuma played at Iowa Valley on Saturday, Feb. 4. They travel to Grundy Center on Tuesday, Feb. 7.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Montezuma 13 21 11 11 – 56
EBF 19 9 22 15 – 65
MONTEZUMA (56)
Madison Johannes 2-11, 0-0, 3, 6. Ellen Cook 4-11, 0-0, 1, 12. Mia Boulton 3-11, 3-4, 1, 12. Jadyn Sharer 2-3, 2-2, 0, 8. Kallie Robison 5-6, 0-0, 2, 10. Izzy Roorda 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0. Claire Erselius 1-3, 1-2, 3, 4. Shiressa Wetering 2-7, 0-0, 3, 4. TOTALS – 19-52, 6-8, 14, 56.
EBF (65)
TOTALS – 26-56, 10-11, 9, 65.
Line score legend: field goals made-attempted, free throws made-attempted, personal fouls, total points.
Three-pointers: Montezuma 12-34 (Cook 4-10, Boulton 3-10, Shearer 2-2, Johannes 2-9, Erselius 1-3); EBF 3-12.
Turnovers: Montezuma 11, EBF 7
Rebounds: Montezuma 24 (Johannes 6, Cook 5, Sharer 4, Robison 3, Wetering 3, Boulton 2, Erselius 1); EBF 34.
Assists: Montezuma 12 (Boulton 6, Johannes 2, Cook 2, Sharer 1, Wetering 1); EBF 18.
Steals: Montezuma 2 (Cook 1, Boulton 1); EBF 12
Blocks: Montezuma 1 (Cook); EBF 4.