Sports News - January 30-February 4
Jays Beat Hartington CC To Play For championship by Timaree Reed
The Pierce Bluejays were able to beat Hartington CC, the number one tournament seed, in a very close 41-39 Midstate Conference tournament game. Round two action was at the Wayne State gymnasium on Friday, February 3. The ability to make important shots in the last minute of the game sealed the win for Pierce.
With the first quarter underway, both the Jays and Trojans used a tight defense to keep the opposing team from going inside. Using a fast offense, the Jays were still able to sneak inside to get a few layups. The quarter ended with the Jays barely ahead 12-11.
Opening up the second quarter the Jays continued to play their game aggressively. Pierce kept the scoring of the Trojans slightly lower than the first quarter; however, the Trojans outscored the Jays to take the lead by one point at the half, 19-20.
The third quarter was filled with tight defense by both teams, and both scored fewer than 10 points. The Jays were able to advance more, though, and the third quarter ended with Pierce again ahead 28-27.
Pierce relied on its signature defense to contain the Trojans, keeping them from scoring in the fourth quarter. With the score staying within a few points for the last minutes of the game, pressure was overwhelming. With the Jays trailing 36039, Connor Reed was able to cut inside and score a layup; Pierce was down by one. With 14 seconds left, Coach Mike Emory took a timeout for a strategy session. Reed inbounded the ball, and after 2 passes, Devin West hit a 3 from the corner with 3.8 seconds left; Pierce was ahead by 2. The Trojans were unable to get their one last shot attempt, and the Jays won the game to advance to the championship.
Jays Beat O’Neill by Timaree Reed
On January 31, the Jays started the Mid-States Conference off right by defeating the Eagles by a comfortable 58-40, using the Jays’ aggressive defense and ability to drain their shots. The game was held at the Norfolk Catholic gymnasium.
The Jays controlled the tip off, and Brandon Freeman took the ball to start the scoring with a 3 pointer. With the Jays playing a tight defense, they were able to control the ball for most of the first quarter. Connor Reed and Lane Rohrich contributed a 3 pointer each that helped the Jays lead 12-10.
With the second quarter underway, the Jays concentrated a bit more on offense and kept possession away from the Eagles. The pitch-in-to-the-post strategy was effective, and Bronson Stonacek made many easy jump shots throughout the second quarter to help the Jays, who outscored the Eagles 15-6. Pierce was ahead at the half 27-16.
The Jays’ defense continued to hold back O’Neill early in the third quarter. With the Eagles unable to move the ball to get a shot, the Jays controlled the ball for the majority of the quarter. The Jays kept driving inside while allowing the Eagles to score only 5 points. At the end of the third quarter the Jays led 42-21.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter both the Jays and the Eagles came out playing hard. The teams threw their bodies on the floor play after play to try to recover the ball. Both the Jays and the Eagles were able to sink their shots throughout the quarter. The Eagles were able to outscore the Jays 16-19, but that was not enough to beat Pierce.
Assistant Coach Tim Waldner said, ”We had to adapt to O’Neill’s pace because they play fast. Our strategy going into the game was to slow them down and get the ball inside more.”
Senior Bronson Stonacek said,”The team rebounded really well, but we need to avoid so many fouls to improve in our next game.”
Lady Jays White Out Knights by Molly Harris
Thursday, February 2, the Pierce High Lady Jays girls’ basketball team knocked out the Norfolk Catholic Knights girls’ team 36 to 20 in the second round of the Mid-State Tournament at Wayne. The Knights were low on offensive power that Thursday night. Pierce students dressed in white, hoping for a white-out against the opponents, and they got their wish.
After the first quarter of the game, the score was nine to four, Pierce ahead. Both teams kicked it up a notch in the second quarter, making the score 20 to 11 at the half, Pierce ahead.
After halftime, Pierce may have gotten a little too comfortable because the Lady Knights outscored them 6-9; the score was then Pierce, 26 to 20 after three.
Norfolk Catholic’s coach took his starters out of the game in the fourth quarter, and the Lady Jays scored ten more points in the final quarter while Catholic scored zero points.
The Lady Jays shot 43 percent on two pointers and hit one of nine attempts on threes. The Lady Knights shot 24 percent on twos and hit two of 15 threes. Pierce made seven free throws of ten attempts, while the Lady Knights had none on four attempts. In rebounds, Pierce had 34 to Catholic’s 29. Pierce also had 14 steals while Catholic had 10. Ellie Pytleski supplied five of Pierce’s steals. Pierce committed 18 tournovers; the Knights, 19.
Pierce’s top scorers were Haley Hoffman and Rachel Wiedenfeld; both scored eight points. Wiedenfeld also had nine rebounds and two assists. Morgan Buckendahl had nine rebounds, one assist, and four points. Wiedenfeld said that the team had “good defense and attacked the basket;” she also felt they shot down Catholic’s shooters.
The win propelled the Lady Jays into the championship game in the Mid-State tournament, which was scheduled for Saturday, postponed because of the weather, and played on Monday, February 6.
Lady Jays Fly Over Eagles by Morgan Hoferer
The varsity Lady Jays played the O’Neill Eagles on Monday, January 30 at Northeast Community College in round one of the Mid-State Conference basketball tournament. With a hot defense and strong offense, the Lady Jays dominated the Eagles and won 43-32. The Lady Jays’ strong offense led them to have a fairly accurate shooting percentage. Pierce made 52% of their two-point field goal shots; O’Neill made 40%. Overall the Lady Jays made 43% percent of their field goal baskets and held O’Neill to 29%.
The Lady Jays scored 11 points in the first quarter and the Eagles, 10 points. For the second quarter, once again, Pierce scored 11 points. O’Neill’s offense was held to 6 points for the second quarter. At the half, the Lady Jays were in the lead 22-16.
The third quarter the consistent Lady Jays earned 11 more points. The score at the end of the third quarter was 33-19, Jays ahead.
The fourth quarter the Lady Jays scored 10 points, and the Eagles scored 13 for the end of the game, so Pierce took the 10-point victory.
Ellie Pytleski led scoring for Pierce with 11 points and 2 assists; Morgan Buckendahl had 9 points and 2 assists, and Haley Hoffman helped the team by earning 8 points with one assist. For the defensive side, Pytleski had 7 rebounds and 3 steals. Hoffman grabbed 5 rebounds.
Ellie Pytleski said the team stopped O’Neill’s three best players and did not let them dominate the game. “We looked to take the open shot when it was there and to keep their best players in check most of the game,” Pytleski said.
