The Montezuma High School varsity basketball teams Tuesday night completed a run of games where they were pitted against contenders in the South Iowa Cedar League races.
Friday night, Jan. 22, they will host Colfax-Mingo, teams that both defeated handily when they met Dec. 4.
You can never assume anything, though.
What both the Bravettes and Braves will need to do is establish control of their games early. Then, they’ll be able to work on the various facets of their games that need improvement.
Last time, the Bravettes were 55-6 winners. Colfax-Mingo is a young, short team, with four starters between 5-1 and 5-7 in height. The Tigerhawks have won four of their 14 games, so it’s likely they’ve improved quite a bit since early December.
The leading scorer is Abigayle Rawlins, a 5-2 sophomore with a 12.2 scoring average. Carley Underwood, a 5-1 sophomore, averages 9.7, and Brennan Rhone, a 5-6 senior, scores 9.1 per contest.
Top rebounder, at 9.7 per game, is Kyra Lester, a 5-7 junior.
The Bravettes are 15-1, and have won every game since losing their season opener to Pella Christian in a non-conference tilt.
The Bravettes have four double figures scorers. Elise Boulton is at 15.7 per game, Mia Boulton at 12.1, Shanae Wetering at 11.9 and Dylan Holland is at 10.6.
Elise Boulton averages 5.6 assists, and Holland averages 9.0 rebounds.
On the boys side, Montezuma was a 78-40 winner back in December.
For the Tigerhawks, Jake Nichols, a 6-2 senior, averages 12.6 points and 14.1 rebounds. Cole Bracewell, a 5-10 junior, scores 11.7 per game. Zach Steenhoek, a 6-0 senior, scores 8.4 points and averages 2.9 assists.
For the Braves, who are 12-2 overall and 11-1 against the league, Trey Shearer scores 29.4 per game and Cole Watts scores 21.7 per outing.
Eddie Burgess, back in the lineup for the last five games, averages 13.4 points, 11 rebounds and is shooting 78 percent from the field.
The Braves have a one-game lead on the loss side in the league race.