HS Girls Basketball

Feb 1

Milledgeville Dominates Morrison

By Craig Lang

Prairie Advocate Sports

Milledgeville’s Brianna Herin (#33) puts up a shot between Morrison’s Christie Wiersema (#32) and Erin Carney (#12) during action in Milledgeville on February 1. The Missiles blew out the Fillies 63-31. Brianna led Milledgeville on the night scoring fourteen points. (PA photo/Craig Lang)

A solid defense and good shooting led the Missiles to the easy win over Morrison on Monday night in Milledgeville. The Missiles scored early and often enroute to the 63-31 victory.

Milledgeville jumped out to a four point first quarter lead and extended that lead to eighteen by the halftime intermission 31-13. Morrison was held to single digit scoring in the first three quarters and could get nothing going offensively until the fourth quarter. Milledgeville extended their lead to twenty nine after three periods and cruised to the lopsided victory.

Brianna Herin led the Missiles scoring fourteen points with teammates Keali Engelkens and Andrea Herin adding twelve points apiece. Marie Deter led the Fillies with ten points while Christie Wiersema added eight.

The Missiles Keali Engelkens (#21) leans in to put up a shot amid Fillie defenders during Morrison-Milledgeville basketball action. Keali scored an even dozen in the Missiles thirty-two point victory. (PA photo/Craig Lang)

Morrison-8-5-7-11-31

Milledgeville-12-19-18-14-63

Morrison: Bush 1 0-0 2; Carney 2 1-2 5; Deter 4 1-2 10; McBride 2 0-0 4; A. Wiersema 1 0-1 2; C. Wiersema 3 2-2 8

Milledgeville: DawTyne 2 3-5 8; Engelkens 4 4-6 12; A. Herin 3 5-6 12; B. Herin 6 0-2 14; Kent 1 1-2 3; Knutti 1 1-2 3; Patterson 1 0-0 2; Workman 4 1-2 9

3 Point Field Goals: Morrison: 1 (Deter)

Milledgeville: 4 (B. Herin 2, A. Herin 1, DawTyne 1)

Fouled Out: None

 

 

 

 

Morrison Fillie Paula Bush (#22) goes for a block on a Milledgeville shooter during action at MHS. The Fillies had no answer for Milledgeville as Morrison fell to the Missiles in a big way. (PA photo/Craig Lang)

Riverdale Routs Thunder

By Craig Lang

Prairie Advocate Sports

Visiting Riverdale came into Savanna and handled West Carroll with ease on Monday night, routing the Thunder 52-20. The Rams held West Carroll to just ten points in each half while compiling twenty eight first half point and scoring twenty four in the second half.

Thunder head coach Travis Findlay commented, “We started playing really well but went cold on offense and slow on defense. We just played into their hands.”

Mallory Gibson led Riverdale with fourteen points and teammates Audrey Bird and Victoria May added ten points each. Sharing scoring honors for West Carroll were Kara Durward and Katy Cook who each scored five points.

Riverdale-11-17-12-12-52

West Carroll-7-3-8-2-20

Riverdale: Bird 5 0-0 10; Chavez 2 0-0 4; Gibson 6 2-4 14; Groves 1 0-0 2; Ickes 1 0-0 2; Johnson 1 0-0 2; May 5 0-3 10; Nimrick 4 0-0 8

West Carroll: Baltierra 1 0-0 2; Cook 2 0-0 5; Ka. Durward 2 1-2 5; Fritz 0 2-2 2; Lucas 1 2-6 4; Morhardt 1 0-0 2

3 Point Field Goals: West Carroll: 1 (Cook)

Fouled Out: None

Feb 2

Morrison Falls To Fulton

By Craig Lang

Prairie Advocate Sports

One night after getting blown out in Milledgeville, the Mustangs came within four points of beating the Steamers, but fell to Fulton 44-41. Morrison trailed by just two points after the first quarter and by six at the half. Morrison held a slim one point lead at the end of three 31-30 but couldn’t hold on in the fourth as they were outscored by Fulton fourteen to ten.

The victorious Steamers were led by Lindsey Renkes who scored eighteen points in a winning effort. Teammate Kim Rogis added fourteen points. Morrison was led by Danielle Stralow who scored a game high twelve points with Christie Wiersema adding ten.

Fulton-10-10-10-14-44

Morrison-8-6-17-10-41

Fulton: Brown 1 0-0 2; DeWeerdt 1 1-2 3; Renkes 5 8-9 18; Rock 1 3-7 5; Rogis 5 4-6 14; L. Sanquist 1 0-0 2

Morrison: Carney 1 1-2 3; Deter 1 0-0 3; McBride 3 1-3 7; Stralow 5 2-2 12; Sumption 2 2-2 6; C. Wiersema 3 4-6 10

3 Point Field Goals: Morrison: 1 (Deter)

Fouled Out: None

F/S Score: Morrison 37 Fulton 29

Pearl City Dominates West Carroll

By Craig Lang

Prairie Advocate Sports

A night after falling big to Riverdale, the Thunder were crushed by hosts Pearl City. The Wolves put up double figure numbers in three of the four quarters while the most the Thunder could muster was a high of four points in the third, falling to Pearl City 41-11.

West Carroll had little offense in the game and little defense, while Pearl City scored at will. Thunder head coach Travis Findlay said, “We were bad offensively tonight. We didn’t even get shots attempted much less make them. You’re not going to win many games only shooting twenty seven shots and missing layups.”

Kelsie Kluck led Pearl City with fourteen points with Chelsey Doubler adding seven. The Thunder’s Becca Fritz led West Carroll with four points.

West Carroll-2-3-4-2-11

Pearl City-11-4-13-13-41

West Carroll: Cook 0 3-4 3; Fritz 2 0-0 4; Lucas 1 0-0 2; Morhardt 1 0-0 2

Pearl City: Buss 2 0-0 5; Doubler 3 0-0 7; Kluck 4 6-6 14; Kurth 1 0-0 3; Lott 1 0-0 2; Scott 3 0-2 6; Strohecker 2 0-0 4

3 Point Field Goals: Pearl City: 3 (Buss 1, Doubler 1, Kurth 1)

Feb 5

Eastland Captures NUIC West Title

By Craig Lang

Prairie Advocate Sports

Eastland took care of business at home on Friday night, defeating Galena 68-44 and winning the NUIC West conference crown.

The Cougars jumped out to a seven point first quarter advantage and widened that lead to eight points 33-25 by the halftime intermission. They kept the pressure on the Pirates in the second half, outscoring Galena thirty five to nineteen to make the final margin of victory.

Aylor Ruter led Eastland with seventeen points and teammate Courtney Blair added fifteen. Rachel Busker led Galena with nineteen points in a losing effort.

Galena-9-16-12-7-44

Eastland-16-17-16-19-68

Galena: Busker 5 9-10 19; Heitkamp 2 3-6 9; Hoppman 2 0-0 4; Middendorf 1 7-8 9; Sterger 0 1-2 1; Valdes 1 0-0 2

Eastland: Bissell 0 3-4 3; Blair 6 3-4 15; Borota 1 2-2 5; Feltmeyer 2 0-1 4; Kniss 1 2-3 5; Nepean 4 3-6 11; Olson 1 2-2 4; Ruter 7 0-0 17; Weber 0 4-4 4

3 Point Field Goals: Galena: 2 (Heitkamp 2)

Eastland: 5 (Ruter 3, Borota 1, Kniss 1)

Fouled Out: Galena: 2 (Sterger, Valdes)

F/S Score: Eastland 42 Galena 32

Feb 6

Thunder Fall To Le-Win

By Craig Lang

Prairie Advocate Sports

West Carroll played the Panthers very tough through the first three quarters on Saturday night in Savanna. Unfortunately, the fourth quarter would be their undoing as they were outscored fourteen to five as Le-Win rolled to the 45-34 victory.

West Carroll trailed by a single point 8-7 going into the second quarter. The Score at the half was Le-Win 20 and West Carroll 18. The Thunder kept is close as they still trailed by only two points 31-29 going into the final period.

Katy Cook paced West Carroll scoring ten points and teammate Sophi Morhardt added eight points. Thunder head coach Travis Findlay said, “This is the best we’ve played in a month. Katy Cook had her best game all year. We shot well but Le-Win shot better and sealed the game at the free throw line. These seniors have meant a lot to the program and I am so proud of them”

Le-Win-8-12-11-14-45

West Carroll-7-11-11-5-34

Le-Win: Arand 1 2-2 4; Jensen 6 0-0 15; Kuckes 1 0-0 2; Parks 1 2-2 4; Shumaker 6 7-8 19; Yeager 0 1-2 1

West Carroll: Cook 4 0-0 10; Ka. Durward 0 1-2 1; Fritz 3 0-0 6; Lucas 4 1-3 9; Morhardt 4 0-0 8

3 Point Field Goals: Le-Win: 3 (Jensen 3)

West Carroll: 2 (Cook 2)

Fouled Out: West Carroll: 2 (Fritz, Ka. Durward)

HS Boys Basketball

Feb 1

Eastland Rolls Over Blackhawks

By Craig Lang

Prairie Advocate Sports

The Cougars used a huge first half surge to dominate Stockton, rolling to the easy 64-42 win on Monday night in Lanark. Eastland jumped on the Blackhawks right from the start, gaining a ten point advantage after the first period.

They extended that lead to twenty seven with a twenty one to four second quarter. Stockton outscored the Cougars in the second half thirty to twenty five but couldn’t even come close to getting back into the ballgame.

Collin Macomber led Eastland, dropping in fourteen points with Mack Byers adding twelve. The Cougars had ten different players put points on the scoreboard.

Stockton-8-4-16-14-42

Eastland-18-21-12-13-64

Stockton: Bauer 1 0-0 2; Boldt 2 0-0 5; Calhoun 0 1-2 1; Hess 3 4-6 10; Kriebs 4 4-5 12; Offenheiser 3 1-1 7; Schamberger 2 1-2 5

Eastland: Byers 6 0-1 12; B. Dunlap 1 2-2 5; T. Dunlap 3 0-0 8; Glastetter 4 0-0 10; Z. Hartman 0 1-2 1; Lessman 4 1-1 9; Macomber 7 0-2 14; Seferi 1 0-0 2; Stichter 0 1-2 1; Wilhelms 1 0-0 2

3 Point Field Goals: Stockton: 1 (Boldt)

Eastland: 5 (Glastetter 2, T. Dunlap 2, B. Dunlap 1)

Fouled Out: None

F/S Score: Eastland 43 Stockton 24

Feb. 3

West Carroll Beats Stockton With Ease

By Craig Lang

Prairie Advocate Sports

What looked like a close contest at the start, turned out to be a cakewalk win for the Thunder as they blew out the Blackhawks 71-42 in Mt. Carroll on Wednesday evening. Leading by five after one period, the Thunder outscored Stockton fifty one to twenty seven the rest of the way to cruise to the easy win.

The victory improves West Carroll’s record to 13-7, 7-2 in conference. Nate Law led the Thunder, scoring nineteen points with teammate Tyler Brashaw adding eighteen,

Thunder head coach Josh Knuth said, “We played a nice team game tonight and moved the ball very well versus their zone. Dillon Prowant dished out a school record thirteen assists! Our defense was much better in the second half as well. We need to continue to improve defensively to become the kind of team we need to be at regional time!”

Stockton-15-9-10-8-42

West Carroll-20-12-20-19-71

Stockton: Baltierra 2 0-0 5; Bauer 1 0-0 2; Hess 0 6-6 6; Huschitt 4 0-0 9; Kriebs 3 2-5 8; Zueger 4 0-0 12

West Carroll: Brashaw 6 0-0 18; Coleman 1 0-0 3; Edwards 6 0-1 12; Getz 4 1-1 9; LaShelle 1 0-0 2; Law 8 3-6 19; Naples 1 0-0 3; Prowant 2 0-0 5

3 Point Field Goals: Stockton: 6 (Zueger 4, Baltierra 1, Huschitt 1)

West Carroll: 9 (Brashaw 6, Coleman 1, Naples 1, Prowant 1)

Fouled Out: None

Comets Roll Over Missiles

By Craig Lang

Prairie Advocate Sports

The very first quarter proved to be the undoing for Milledgeville at home against Sterling Newman. The Comets held the Missiles scoreless in the first quarter as they put eighteen points on the scoreboard enroute to the 62-41 win. The rest of the contest was relatively close but the Missiles just couldn’t quite get back to where they needed to be to overcome that first quarter deficit.

Newman improves their record to 15-8 with the victory while Milledgeville falls to 6-16. Tim Wilson led Sterling Newman scoring sixteen points. Kurt Landis paces the Missiles, dropping in a dozen.

Feb 5

West Carroll Handles Pearl City

By Craig Lang

Prairie Advocate Sports

Despite holding just a small lead through the first two quarters, West Carroll managed a big second half to come away with the 70-53 win in Pearl City on Friday evening. The Thunder led by four points 15-11 after the first quarter. The Wolves cut into the lead to go into the locker room at the half trailing by just one 32-31.

The second half was a different story as West Carroll opened up their lead to eight points after three quarters and outscored Pearl City in the final frame twenty one to twelve. Brady Edwards led the Thunder pouring in twenty while Nate Law added nineteen and Tyler Brashaw scored sixteen. Pierson Hull scored fifteen for the Wolves with Collin Talbert adding ten points.

West Carroll head coach Josh Knuth said, “We finished the game well tonight which was good to see. Our defense was not what we need it to be but when we did defend and rebound we were able to expand our lead. We need to continue to improve on defense to get where we want to be.”

West Carroll-15-17-17-21-70

Pearl City-11-20-10-12-53

West Carroll: Brashaw 4 8-8 16; Edwards 7 6-8 20; Getz 2 3-3 7; Law 7 5-11 19; Naples 3 1-2 8

Pearl City: Block 3 0-0 6; Grebener 2 2-2 6; Harrington 1 0-0 2; Hull 3 9-15 15; Maurer 2 0-0 4; Schiess 2 4-6 8; Talbert 3 2-2 10; Tessendorf 0 2-2 2

3 Point Field Goals: West Carroll: 1 (Naples)

Pearl City: 2 (Talbert 2)

Morrison Outlasts Erie

By Craig Lang

Prairie Advocate Sports

The Mustangs used a huge second quarter to put some distance between themselves and visiting Erie on Friday night in Morrison to take the 48-36 victory. Erie led by a single point 9-8 after quarter number one. The Mustangs then put twenty one on the scoreboard in the second quarter while holding the Cardinals to just two to take the twenty nine to eleven halftime lead.

Erie outscored Morrison the rest of the way but couldn’t overcome that second quarter deficit. Travis McBride led all Mustang scorers with thirteen points and Nick Volckmann added a dozen.

Erie-9-2-10-15-36

Morrison-8-21-8-11-48

Erie: Carsten 1 0-0 2; Cox 1 0-0 2; DeJonge 0 1-2 1; Enyeart 1 0-0 2; Goodhart 3 2-3 8; Jackson 2 0-0 4; Jacquet 2 0-0 5; Schmidt 6 0-1 12

Morrison: Burn 1 2-2 4; Cook 3 0-0 7; Gruel 2 0-0 4; Janssen 1 0-0 2; McBride 6 1-3 13; Volckmann 4 2-2 12; Wagenecht 3 0-0 6

3 Point Field Goals: Erie: 1 (Jacquet)

Morrison: 2 (Volckmann 2)

F/S Score: Morrison 50 Erie 38

Feb 6

Milledgeville Beats AFC With Ease

By Craig Lang

Prairie Advocate Sports

The Missiles used a huge third quarter to put distance between themselves and AFC on Saturday night in Milledgeville, cruising to the 65-43 win. The Missiles trailed by a single point 15-14 after quarter number one.

Outscoring AFC 19-9 in period number two, they went into the locker room at the half up 33-24. The third quarter would be AFC’s downfall as Milledgville outscored them twenty three to five to open up the breathing room they needed to coast to the lopsided win.

Carrigan Hunter and Keegan Neubauer led Milledgeville, each scoring sixteen points.

Mustangs Fall To Kewanee In A Close Battle

By Craig Lang

Prairie Advocate Sports

Morrison kept it close for most of the contest but a big fourth quarter propelled Kewanee to the 63-52 victory in Morrison on Saturday evening. The Mustangs led by a point 13-12 going into quarter number two. Kewanee manged to take the quarter as both teams went into the intermission tied at twenty one.

The Mustangs again took back the lead, outscoring Kewanee twenty two to thirteen in the third and leading 43-34 going in the fourth. Kewanee outscored Morrison twenty nine to nineteen in the final period to come away with the slim one point victory.

Travis McBride led Morrison with eighteen points.

Kewanee-12-9-13-29-63

Morrison-13-8-22-19-62

Kewanee: Carlson 7 2-5 17; Hart 12 7-7 37; Pryor 1 1-2 3; Warner 3 0-0 6

Morrison: Burn 3 4-5 10; Cook 6 0-0 15; Gruel 1 0-1 2; Janssen 3 2-4 9; McBride 7 4-8 18; Wagenecht 2 4-13 8

3 Point Field Goals: Kewanee: 6 (Hart 6)

Morrison: 4 (Cook 3, Janssen 1)

Fouled Out: Kewanee: 1 (Cinnamon)

Morrison: 1 (Burn)

F/S Score: Kewanee 78 Morrison 48

West Carroll FCCLA Chili Supper

The West Carroll High School FCCLA is hosting a chili supper before the boy’s basketball game Saturday, February 13th. The dinner will be served from 4:30-7:00 p.m. at the Middle School in Mt. Carroll.

Donations and all proceeds will go to the Relay For Life. The Thunder will be taking on the Le-Win Panthers. Come and support your team and Relay For Life.

West Carroll Senior Night

Tuesday, February 16th is Senior Night for the West Carroll boys basketball team. The Thunder will be competing against Forreston with the fresh/soph game starting at 6:00 p.m. at the Middle Scholl in Mt. Carroll.

This will be the last home game for seniors Ethan Baisden, Adam Ferguson, John Getz, Nathaniel Law and Dillon Prowant. The following senior boy’s basketball cheerleaders will also be honored: Avery Handel, Randi Long, Laura Mazanet and Jessie Themas. The West Carroll Pep Band will perform and seniors Florence Brehm, Maria Heath, Becky Titus, Megan Fitzpatrick, Rebeccah Yuswak, Carrie Brinkmeier, Cassie Meade, Randi Long, Cassie Vos, Seth Brandt, Ryan Atherton, David Walter, Ethan Baisden, Colby Lemm and Garrett Eberle will be honored.

Vegter Meets Olympic Gold Medalists

Stephanie Vavra, the City1

Augustana College, Rock Island, IL, hosted two sessions of swim clinics for youth swimmers on Saturday, January 30, 2010.  All 120 spots had been filled, and Morrison Seahorse Swim Club member Amber Vegter thought she would have no chance to attend.  However, a fortunate cancellation allowed the 12-year-old to fill the vacancy. 

Amber was assigned Lane 6 for her clinic instruction.  Gold medalists Josh Davis and Aaron Peirsol instructed 60 students as a group; then the student swimmers applied the techniques and drills in the water.  Vegter is in seventh grade, and she has been swimming since kindergarten.  She is the daughter of Tim and Jill Vegter. Currently, her favorite events are the individual medley and the butterfly stroke.

After the swim clinic participants met each Olympian, had photos taken by proud family members, and received autographs.  Included in the meet-and-greet time was the privilege of wearing actual gold medals earned by the presenters. 

In the photo, Davis, pictured on the left, brought a medal from his win in 1996 at the Atlanta, GA, Summer Olympics.  Peirsol, right, shared a medal from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. 

Vegter’s experience was truly a “golden opportunity.” Find out about the Morrison Seahorses at www.morrisonseahorseswimclub.com.