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The
Official Newspaper of Anamosa, located in Jones County, Iowa
Anamosa News
Since 1855
 Thursday,
December 22, 2005 |
Winning
with defense
By
Daryl Schepanski - Sports Editor |
Meeting
place
Raider junior Drew Carrier goes high in an attept to block a shot by
Center Point-Urbana’s Jared Kuehner during first half action from Anamosa’s
narrow 58-55 setback hosting the Pointers Friday, December 16. (Journal-Eureka
photo by Daryl Schepanski) | CENTRAL
CITY — A win is a win no matter how you get it.
An ugly win, is still
a win. A pretty win, is still a win.
The Anamosa boys basketball team
may not have looked good doing it, but their hard-fought 27-26 triumph at Central
City Tuesday, December 13, proved several things to the young Raiders. They could
come back when the chips were down while also keeping their perfect Tri-Rivers
Conference record in tact.
“This may have been the ugliest game that
I can remember,” said Raider boys basketball coach Kevin Barnes, who coached
at Central City before making the move to Anamosa 10 years ago. “The only
way it could have been any uglier was if the score had remained 26-25.
That
is what the score was with just over a minute to go.”
The deficit
was the first for the Raiders since the opening moments of the contest.
“We panicked and blew a double-digit lead,” said Barnes. “We were
being out-scored 15-4 in the fourth quarter the our two seniors stepped up and
saved us.” |
Senior
Derek Hart found senior Ben Yanda open in the corner of the court and Yanda buried
a 15-foot jumper with 28-seconds remaining to give the visitors the lead once
again. It was one they would not lose the rest of the way either.
“Then
we had two defensive stops,” said Barnes. “Central City wasn’t
even able to get off a shot and we hung on to win.”
The game was
an ugly one of the outset as Anamosa (2-2, 2-1) and the host Wildcats struggled
to score.
The Raiders led just 5-4 after one brutal quarter and then went
on an 11-3 spurt in the second stanza to take a commanding 16-7 lead at the halftime
break.
Anamosa built their advantage to double-digits in the third quarter
continuing their run outscoring Central City 5-4 in the eight-minute frame to
lead 21-11 entering the fourth quarter.
“You have to give Central
City credit,” said Barnes. “Their 6’8’’ and 6’5’’
kids erased any inside game we attempted by blocking our shots. We scored only
four points in the paint all night long.
We were not shooting well from the
outside so we had to find a way to win and we did it with defense and timely offense.”
But it was Central City’s offense that came alive in the final frame as the
hosts went on an 11-2 spurt over the frame’s first six minutes to slice the
Raider lead to a mere point.
“I’m really proud of the way our
kids battled,” said Barnes. “But we obviously have a ways to go offensively
to compete on a consistent basis.”
Colten Kelly helped build the
Anamosa advantage in the first half scoring seven of his nine points in the first
two quarters.
With the struggles around the basket, Anamosa also failed
to shoot a free throw over the game’s final 16 minutes as well.
Overall
the Raiders were 6-of-8 from the free throw line, all coming in the first half
and shot 23-percent from the field.
Kelly’s nine points led the visitors
while Yanda added seven more and six rebounds. Tony Lueken chipped in with five
points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals in the narrow one-point Tri-Rivers
triumph.
The Raiders looked to keep their perfect conference record alive
hosting Center Point-Urbana Friday, December 16, and in another hard-fought battle,
this time came up on the short end of a 58-55 score.
“I really feel
we are getting better, but this one stings a little bit,” said Barnes after
the three-point setback to the Pointers. “We just didn’t execute in
a couple of key moments and in a one-possession loss, those mental breakdowns
just kill you.”
The Raiders trailed 41-39 with 3:35 remaining when
Andrew Peters connected on a long 3-pointer from the top of the key that handed
Anamosa a 42-41 lead.
CP-U answered just 15 seconds later when Joey Bahnsen
drilled a trey of his own putting the Pointers on top 44-42.
Hart scored
with 2:42 remaining to knot the score before Steve Chamberlin scored again for
the visitors.
Kelly answered for the hosts with a basket knotting the
score at 46-46, but a Bahnsen free throw with 2:06 left gave the Pointers a lead
they would not lose.
Bahnsen added a basket and four more free throws
for CP-U down the stretch while Chamberlin and Patrick Retzlaff also came through
with clutch points for the Pointers.
Lueken kept Anamosa hopes alive drilling
a big 3-pointer with 57-seconds left closing what had been a six-point CP-U advantage
down to three. Kelly helped cut even further with two free throws that brought
the Raiders to within 55-53.
“We had a great night from the line
tonight,” said Barnes. “Derek and Colten both hit two free throws each
in the fourth quarter. That is encouraging to see us hitting those clutch free
throws.”
Kelly was clutch all game long leading the Raiders with
a career-high 24 points. The star sophomore was also 8-of-8 from the free throw
line leading a 19-of-21 effort overall by the hosts from the charity stripe.
“I really like how hard we are working now, in-season,” said Barnes.
“We still have a lot of improvement we can make, but as long as we keep working
hard, I think we will get there.”
Lueken added nine points and four
assists as the Raiders shot a solid 45-percent from the field as a team.
Anamosa led 8-4 after one quarter and were up 23-15 at the break. The Pointers
began their run in the third quarter outscoring Anamosa 13-11 in the frame before
a huge 30-point final frame sealed the Raiders’ fate. |
Court
confidence coming
By Daryl Schepanski - Sports Editor |
Traffic
passing
Anamosa senior Kelsi Dearborn works a pass around Center Point-Urbana’s
Emilie Warren to freshman teammate Chelsey Bildstein during the Raiders’
45-38 setback Friday, December 16, hosting the Pointers. (Journal-Eureka photo
by Daryl Schepanski) | CENTRAL
CITY — On the road again, just can’t wait to get on the road again.
The Willie Nelson song may not be this season’s anthem for the Anamosa girls
basketball team, but the Raiders proved confident yet again on the road, this
time at Central City Tuesday, December 13, rolling to a 48-35 triumph.
After winning at Starmont just four days earlier, the win over the Wildcats on
the road gave Anamosa (2-7, 2-3) their second straight triumph away from the comforts
of the Raider gym as the team cruises into the Christmas break.
“This
wasn’t easy by any stretch of the imagination,” said Raider girls basketball
coach Jack Leighty. “We really couldn’t pull away from them until the
fourth quarter but when we had to make a run, we did it and that’s what I
enjoyed seeing from this group. |
They
didn’t panic when Central City made their run at us and we had the final
say at the end of the game.”
After a first quarter that saw both teams
tally eight points each, Anamosa inched ahead in the second quarter taking an
18-16 lead at the break.
“That was a sluggish first half,”
said Leighty. “It was a struggle for both teams.”
But in the
third quarter it appeared the Raiders were going to run away and hide from the
Wildcats for good going on a huge 13-4 spurt to take a 31-20 lead with two minutes
remaining in the third quarter.
“As quickly as we made our run in
the third quarter, they answered with one of their own,” said Leighty. “They
hit a couple of 3-pointers and got another basket and our 11-point lead was down
to just three points by the end of the quarter.”
Central City’s
Erica Stevens and Allison Wise hit treys as the hosts closed to within 31-28 entering
the final frame.
With Central City stealing the momentum, Anamosa was
forced to re-group, quickly and the team did exactly that playing suffocating
defense holding what had been a hot-shooting Wildcat club late in the third quarter
to a mere three points over the first six minutes of the final frame.
“We really stepped it up,” said Leighty. “I was proud of the girls
for the way they responded to that situation.”
Kelsi Dearborn, Sara
Schultejans and Traci Dirks keyed the fourth quarter run as the Raiders went on
a 12-2 spurt taking a 43-30 lead and complete control of the contest with just
two minutes remaining.
“It’s always our goal to hold our opponent
under 35 points and we did that,” said Leighty. “Kelsi and Sara really
came up big for us in the second half too.”
Dearborn scored 11 of
her 12 points in the second half while Schultejans added seven second half points.
Overall Schultejans led the Raider offense with 13 points while also adding two
assists, three steals and five rebounds. Goetz added six points and seven boards.
Anamosa returned home and continued Tri-Rivers Conference play hosting Center
Point-Urbana Friday, December 16, and in a tight contest throughout, were handed
a 45-38 defeat by the Pointers.
“Our main focus was to hold their
center Ashley Gorsh in check, and I thought, for the most part, we were able to
do that,” said Leighty. “We’ve got no one who can come close to
matching her size, but we have girls who give great effort and that’s what
we needed tonight.”
The Raiders’ effort was exactly what Leighty
had hoped for early on as Anamosa led 12-10 after one quarter and continued to
play aggressive basketball through the first half.
“We tried to get
Gorsh into foul trouble,” said Leighty. “And we did a pretty good job
of that, especially in the first half.”
The Raiders shot 20 first
half free throws with Dirks stepping to the line eight times in the first two
quarters and connecting on seven. Schultejans, Goetz and Chelsey Bildstein all
toed the charity stripe in the first half as Anamosa made the most of the opportunities
drilling 15-of-20.
“The girls shot well from the line and did a pretty
nice job from the field too,” said Leighty. “For the most part we did
a nice job of taking care of the basketball too. But down the stretch we just
gave up too many easy buckets to CP-U and committed too many turnovers and that
was the difference.”
The Pointers led 35-30 entering the final frame
and took as much as a five-point lead before the Raiders rallied slicing the deficit
to two points with two minutes remaining. A 7-2 spurt to end the contest propelled
the Pointers to the seven-point road victory.
“We tried to press
and force them into some turnovers and that just didn’t happen,” said
Leighty. “Offensively we ran what we wanted to run. We had to work the basketball
around quite a bit to get the looks we wanted, but we were patient.”
Dirks led Anamosa with 13 points while Goetz chipped in with 12 more.
The Raiders stepped out of Tri-Rivers Conference action and hosted Marion Saturday,
December 17, and battle the Indians tough for three quarters before being handed
a 55-48 defeat.
“If this was a three quarter game, we win,”
said Leighty. “For three quarters, we were the better team. It was one quarter
we weren’t and that was the difference.”
The Indians led 9-8
after one quarter but it was a 22-10 Marion spurt that proved to be just too much
for the Raiders to overcome.
“Marion is a very athletic team and
we really struggled with their press,” said Leighty. “It wasn’t
any tougher than presses we’ve already seen this year but we did not handle
it well.”
Anamosa outscored the visitors 38-33 in the first, third
and fourth quarters including holding a 21-15 edge in the final frame.
Goetz was sensational leading the hosts with 17 points. Dearborn scored nine more
with Gerber chipping in with eight. |
Second
half spurt sparks Midland girls past Olin
By
Daryl Schepanski - Sports Editor |
Point
of order
Midland’s Amanda Hansen was clutch for the Eagles down the stretch
as her team rallied for a 53-46 triumph hosting Olin Tuesday, December 13. Hansen
hit big free throws in the waning seconds to help clinch the win. (Journal-Eureka
photo by Daryl Schepanski) |
WYOMING — Like always and in any sport, when you get Midland and Olin together,
you throw out the records. It’s just raw emotion that takes over and that
was the case again Tuesday, December 13, in Wyoming.
“We were not
ready to play tonight,” said Eagle girls basketball coach Josh Bentley after
his club battled from behind to post an impressive 53-46 victory over a scrappy
group of Lions. “Olin was ready and they wanted it worse than we did to begin
with.”
Midland (4-4, 0-1) struggled matching Olin’s intensity
in the early going as the youthful Lions surprised Midland girls basketball fans
with their ability to run the court, rebound and shoot the basketball.
Olin led 12-10 after one quarter and 26-23 at the break as the Lions used a 14-13
edge in the second quarter to take their three-point edge into the second half.
“I think we had a few girls step up tonight and Aubrey Walters, Katie Leonard
and Amanda Hansen were those girls,” said Bentley. “Those three gave
us a spark when we were struggling. Mary Burmeister started to come around in
the second half and really played well. We are hoping that is a trend that continues.”
Led by the four Eagles on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor,
Midland not only got their offense going posting their highest point total of
the contest to the point, but also made things very difficult on the visitors
holding Olin to a mere three points in the eight minute frame. |
“I
was not happy about our effort in the first half but the third quarter we got
going and played very well,” said Bentley. “We will need to play four
quarters like our third quarter tonight the rest of the way.”
The Eagles used a pivotal 14-3 spurt in the third quarter and took a 37-29 advantage
tuning up their usual pressure defense to deafening levels forcing the Lions into
numerous turnovers in the frame.
Midland was able to hold their lead the
rest of the way with Burmeister, Walters, Sammy Reid and Amanda Hansen all hitting
key shots down the stretch.
“This was a team victory,” said
Bentley. “Some girls didn’t get in or didn’t play as much as they
are used to, but they were cheering and truly supporting their teammates. That
goes to show it doesn’t matter who is in there, just so that we win.”
Bentley played 12 girls in the win over the rival Lions with Burmeister pacing
the club with an impressive 16-point effort that also saw the center pull down
10 rebounds and swat away a pair of Olin shot attempts.
Reid added nine
points with three assists and six big steals, many coming during the huge third
quarter spurt.
Walters also played well for the Eagles off the bench scoring
nine points while also grabbing six rebounds.
Midland hosted Andrew in
the Big East Conference opener for both clubs Friday, December 16, and were handed
a bitter 42-40 defeat at the hands of the Hawks.
“Tonight we learned
what it felt like not to finish a game,” said Bentley. “We battled right
with Andrew and just weren’t able to get over the hump.”
It
was the Eagles who were the aggressors early on jumping out to a 13-9 first quarter
lead. The impressive play continued in the second stanza as well as the hosts
used a 14-10 spurt to take a 27-19 halftime advantage.
“Andrew did
a nice job of slowing us down in the second half and we just weren’t able
to get it going again,” said Bentley. “I feel that this game will help
us down the road, but right now, it stings.”
Andrew’s defense
stung the Eagle offense holding the hosts to a mere 13 points in the entire second
half.
The No. 15 ranked Hawks went on a 12-7 spurt in the third quarter
cutting the Midland lead to 34-31 and the run continued in the final frame as
well as Andrew outscored the Eagles 11-6 to take the narrow two-point league triumph.
Midland received offensive support from 10 different players led by Reid’s
nine points, three assists and three steals. Burmeister added seven points and
nine boards while Walters and Cassi Baker each chipped in with five points.
The Eagles stepped out of Big East Conference action Saturday, December 17, and
hosted Jones County rival Monticello and against a very talented Panther squad,
the Midland girls battled the Tri-Rivers Conference team to the end before succumbing
to a 49-42 defeat.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the girls,”
said Bentley. “They played a very sound Monticello team and I think we answered
everything they had. We missed some key shots and once again, at the end, we were
nervous, but I think we will overcome that as the season goes on and they become
comfortable being in tight games right up until the end.”
Monticello
jumped out to the early lead against the Eagles taking a 15-12 advantage after
one quarter but the high flying, quick-shooting Panthers could not shake the Midland
girls all night long.
The Eagles kept hanging around and hanging around
trailing just 26-22 at the half and 37-32 after three quarters.
“This
was probably one of our best games to follow up Friday night with,” said
Bentley referring to the tough loss hosting Andrew less than 24 hours earlier.
“This was a solid performance again. I do think the girls are gaining confidence
daily and that is all that I ask from them to keep working hard and trust in the
team. Leave everything they have on the floor and have confidence in themselves.”
Hanging with Monticello through four fierce quarters had to help that as Midland
added 10 fourth quarter points while the Panthers finished the contest with a
12-point final frame and the narrow seven-point triumph.
Burmeister played
well yet again leading the hosts with 14 points while Reid added eight more to
go with five rebounds. Megan Pegorick added seven big points. |
Coming
together on the court
By
Daryl Schepanski - Sports Editor |
WYOMING — When things didn’t start like Olin boys basketball coach Bruce
Miell had hoped they would at rival Midland Tuesday, December 13, the first year
Lion bench boss didn’t panic and neither did his club.
“We started
out very slowly, but we stayed confident and didn’t rush or force up any
bad shots and just stayed and believed in the offense and each other and it all
wound up working out,” said Miell after guiding his club to an impressive
57-55 victory in Wyoming. “Midland started the game hot hitting some big
shots and getting their crowd into the game, but we leaned on our senior leadership
to come through and they did, once again.”
Olin (2-3, 0-1) trailed
early on as the Eagles, running a smooth and precise offense, took a 14-9 first
quarter lead as the Lions struggle finding rhythm and flow within their offensive
sets.
“The kids just refused to lose and made the big plays to get
us back into the game and also made the plays that kept it all going,” said
Miell. “This is a big road win for us. I just wish we could get one at home
now. We still haven’t won there yet.”
The Lion offense began
running smoothly in the second quarter as the two teams ran up and down the floor
scoring a combined 36 points with Olin taking 21 of those sparking to a 30-29
halftime lead. | 
Momentum
changer
Olin’s Kasey Bean attacks the rim for the Lions during their
come-from-behind 59-57 win at Midland Tuesday, December 13. Bean played a major
role scoring 22 points. (Journal-Eureka photo by Daryl Schepanski) |
“It
just seemed like all of a sudden, things clicked for us offensively,” said
Miell. “We just kept it clicking the rest of the game too after that rough
start.”
The Eagles refused to go away however as the hosts outscored
the Lions 16-14 in the third quarter and took a narrow 45-44 lead into the final
frame. “We
had to make some defensive adjustments in the second half and I thought Colton
(Hansen) did a very nice job of guarding their big shooter Scott Willimack,”
said Miell. “We went box-and-1 and that made a difference.”
Willimack did connect on a 3-pointer with 4:01 remaining in the fourth quarter
giving his team a 51-50 lead after they had trailed 50-48. Brock Rouse answered
with a basket putting the Lions back on top but a Ryan Trentz basket for the hosts
had Midland fans cheering yet again holding a 53-52 edge in the see-saw contest.
With 2:46 remaining, Kasey Bean gave the Lions a lead they would not lose the
rest of the way drilling a jumper putting Olin ahead 54-53.
Justin Smith
added a field goal and Rouse a free throw as the visitors built their advantage
to four points at 57-53 before another Trentz basket with 1:23 remaining got the
hosts two points closer.
Bean stepped to the free throw line with 9.5
seconds remaining and swished two clutch shots to ice the triumph for Olin.
“Colton hit some big shots in the third quarter and Kasey was hot all game
long,” said Miell. “We have a senior dominated team and they took charge
tonight. I really like how this team is coming together on the court. We’re
playing well as a team and hopefully that trend will continue.”
Bean
led the Lions with a sensational 22-point night drilling a pair of 3-pointers
as well as 8-of-9 from the charity stripe. Hansen added 13 points and a pair of
huge treys while Smith chipped in with 10 points.
Olin returned home Friday,
December 16, and in a Big East Conference opener against Clinton Prince of Peace,
were handed a 68-61 defeat.
“This was not the way we wanted to start
the conference season,” said Miell. “The difference came down to the
free throw line. It was just that simple.”
The Irish toed the charity
stripe a whopping 35 times in the contest and connected on 26 while the hosts
managed just a 10-of-20 night shooting at the free throw line.
“That’s
a 16-point difference,” said Miell. “That’s huge. They just would
not miss when they got to the line and we struggled and in a close game like this,
that’s huge.”
Prince of Peace jumped out to an 18-12 first quarter
lead but Olin rallied outscoring the visitors 14-9 in the second stanza and trailed
just 27-26 at the break.
The third quarter saw the Lions jump out in front
taking a slim 38-36 lead into the final frame.
“Our press just wasn’t
working,” said Miell. “We couldn’t create turnovers and as a result
we got into foul trouble and just couldn’t dig ourselves out at the end.”
Both clubs exploded offensively in the final frame as the Irish ripped the nets
for 32 points while the Lions did the best they could keeping pace with 23 of
their own.
Rouse led the hosts with 21 points. |
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