JH Lady Jays Take on Bravettes
by Kayla Simmons
The junior high Lady Jays’ basketball teams traveled to Battle Creek on Monday, November 28, to battle with the the young Bravettes.
Starting off the night, the first Pierce team on the court was the 6:00 game. The Lady Jays dominated the court in all four quarters. Going into the first quarter of the game, Morgan Blecher led the team as she sunk two two-point shots adding four points to the board. Increasing the score, Kailey Marks and MaKinzie Parsons each had two points. The Pierce girls took the first quarter 8-2. In the second quarter of the game, Pierce, once again, outscored the Bravettes. Again, Blecher shot twice and was successful. She added another four points to the Lady Jays’ score. Ending the quarter, Cara Graae also put up two points to end the first half 14-4. Dribbling into the second half, Blecher came out strong and shot up four more points. Unfortunately, that’s all the Lady Jays scored in the third quarter, but they held Battle Creek to only two points, ending the quarter 18-6. In the final quarter of the game, Angel Heisinger was the only scorer for the Pierce girls, as she hit a two-point shot. Holding the Bravettes, Pierce triumphed over Battle Creek 20-6.
In the 7:00 game, the Lady Jays unfortunately fell to Battle Creek. In the first quarter, Samantha Fischer was the only scorer for the Pierce girls as she hit one free throw. The Bravettes were able to break Pierce’s defense and score six points, leaving the score 1-6. In the second quarter, the Pierce team kicked it into gear and added four more points, which were scored by Gina Wragge and Fischer, who each hit a basket. Ending the first half, Battle Creek was still on top, with a score of 18-5. Going into the second half, the Lady Jays didn’t have much luck on the scoreboard, as Fischer shot and hit one free throw. Adding 11 more points to their score, the Braves led the third quarter 29-6. In the fourth and final quarter of the game, Pierce couldn’t get any shots to fall as Fischer and Graison Pfeiffer each had only two points. The Battle Creek team kept their lead and sunk 13 more points, making the final score 10-42.
“It was nice to get our first win in the first game,” said coach Cady Reinke. “The girls played really well. In our second game, it didn’t turn out the way we wanted, but the score didn’t reflect the way we played.”
The last game for the Lady Jays was played at 8:00. Starting off the first quarter strong, Faith Lubischer hit three two-pointers, starting Pierce off with six points. Each scoring two points, Payten Simmons and MiKala Stone put up four points for the team. Barely trailing behind, the Bravettes stayed on Pierce’s tail 10-6 at the end of the first quarter. Going into the second quarter, Pierce dominated the court. Sinking one free throw, Kenzie Moeller upped her team’s score by one. Lubischer and Kennedy Warneke each shot and made one basket. Simmons and Ashton Oestreich lit up the scoreboard by each scoring four points. The Lady Jays held Battle Creek and ended the first half 23-13. In the second half, Pierce kept their lead and never looked back. Simmons hit two shots, getting four points, and Stone hit one shot, leaving the score of the third quarter 29-15. In the last quarter, Moeller sunk a three at the start of the half, giving Pierce an edge. Lubischer and Elizabeth Hammer each hit one more basket to give the team four more points. Sarah Miller was able to get one free throw, and Stone swished three more free throws to end the game. Flying over Battle Creek, the final score of the game was 40-18.
“We improved a lot from our first game, and we shot the ball really well,” said coach Brenda Fleecs.
The team’s next game will be a tournament in Wayne on Saturday, December 10.