Lady Jays Basketball
Varsity Lady Jays Defeat Hartington
by McKenna Shonka
The girls’ varsity basketball team played on their home court against the Hartington-Newcastle Wildcats on Saturday, December 8. The Lady Jays won the game with a final score of 46-36
In the first quarter, the the Lady Jays scored an impressive 19 points, and the Wildcats scored only five. Kayla Simmons scored a whopping 17 points for the Lady Jays, and Zoe Brenden scored two free throws. Going into the second quarter, the Lady Jays and the Wildcats each scored 11 points. Simmons had two points in the second quarter, Brenden had two free throws, and Maggie Brahmer had seven points. With the first half over, the score was 30-16 with the Lady Jays up.
Coming out of the halftime break, both the Lady Jays and Wildcats scored eight points. Simmons scored four points, Kenzie Moeller had two points, and Abbey Fuerhoff had two. In last quarter, the Lady Jays were outscored by the Wildcats 8-12, but their lead was enough for them to take the game. Brahmer had four free throws in the fourth, and Moeller had three.
Coach Darren Sindelar said, “I thought the girls played well on Saturday. We started out really well in the first quarter. Offensively, we shot ball from the outside extremely well in the first quarter. Kayla really set the tone with her outside shooting. Our defense is coming along. The girls are buying in to what we are trying to do. Everyone who played on Saturday contributed in our victory.”
The next game for the girls is Friday, December 14, on the Bluejay court against Scotus.
Lady Jays Edge out Cardinals
by Kailey Marks
The varsity Lady Jays defeated the Boone Central Cardinals in a close game on Friday, December 7, with a score of 34-32.
To start off the game, Kenzie Moeller scored a three-pointer. Maggie Brahmer then went up for a rebound to score a two-pointer for the Lady Jays, and Kayla Simmons hit a three. Brahmer went again for a two-pointer, and Moeller ended the quarter with a three. Finishing off the quarter, Pierce was up 13-11.
To finish off the first half, junior Zoe Brenden scored a two-pointer with senior Brianna Aguilera scoring two free throws. The Lady Jays’ defense allowed the Cardinals six points, and going into halftime, Lady Jays and Cardinals were tied with a score of 17-17.
Starting the second half, Moeller hit her third three-pointer. Abbey Fuerhoff then got a two-point bucket along with Brenden getting both of her free throws. Brenden then threw out a two-pointer, and Fuerhoff finished off the quarter with a two for the Lady Jays. Going into the final quarter of the game, Lady Jays were up 28-26.
Going into the final quarter of the game, Brahmer scored another two-pointer for the team along with one free throw, and then threw out another two-pointer. Simmons finished off the game with a free throw. Edging out the Cardinals, the Lady Jays won 34-32.
Brahmer led the Lady Jays in steals with three, and Aguilera, Simmons, and sophomore Faith Lubischer each had one. Brahmer also had the most blocks with three and the most assists with two. Stone, Brenden, Aguilera, Moeller and Fuerhoff had one assist each.
Coach Darren Sindelar was pleased with the girls’ teamwork and hard work on the defensive end limiting the Cardinals’ shots. Even with the positives, Sindelar went on to say that they need to work on consistency on both ends of the court and that they need to shoot the ball better and be more aggressive on the offensive end. Coach said, “Each day, we have to get better.”
The Lady Jays play their next game on Friday, December 14, against Scotus on the Pierce court at 4:15.
JV Girls Fall to Boone Central
by McKenna Shonka
The JV girls’ basketball team traveled to Boone Central on Friday December 7. The final score of the game was 39-47 with the Lady Jays behind.
In the first quarter, the Lady Jays were up 13-6. For the Lady Jays, Faith Lubischer scored a basket and two free throws, Kennedy Warneke scored a three, and Payten Simmons had two. Abigail Meier also contributed with four points. In the second quarter, the Lady Jays were outscored 9-13 by the Cardinals. Warneke hit a basket and one free throw, Simmons had four points, and Graison Pfeiffer added two. Going into the half, the Lady Jays were still up 22-19.
In the third quarter, the Lady Jays lost their lead as they scored just 11 points to the Cardinals’ 17. Warneke nailed a three and a free throw, Simmons had two baskets, and Meier added two points. Getting outscored once again by the Cardinals in the fourth, the Lady Jays lost the game despite two threes from Warneke.
JV coach Amber Henderson said, “I thought the girls did well. We still have little things to work on and need to take care of the ball. Unfortunately they hit some big three-pointers in a row towards the end, and it was hard to come back after that.”
The upcoming game for the JV girls is Friday, December 14, on the Bluejay court.
C-Team Lady Jays Fall to Battle Creek
By McKenna Shonka
The C-team Lady Jays traveled to Battle Creek on Thursday, December 6, and lost a battle with the Bravettes. The final score of the game was 24-42.
In the first quarter the Lady Jays had a total of three points, which were scored by Kennedy Warneke. The Bravettes scored eight to pull ahead of the Lady Jays. Going into the second quarter, Pierce put up five points with Samantha Fischer and Warneke each contributing for the Lady Jays. The Bravettes had a strong offensive quarter and scored 13 to go up 8-21 on the Lady Jays. After halftime, the Lady Jays scored another five points with a free throw from Alexus Sindelar and four more points from Fischer, but with the Bravettes scoring 11, the Lady Jays fell further behind. The final quarter was the strongest offensively for the Lady Jays as they put away nine points with Gina Wragge scoring three, Graison Pfeiffer putting up two, and Fischer scoring four more. Although they outscored the Bravettes by one in the final quarter, Battle Creek’s lead was too great to overcome, and the Lady Jays fell 24-42.
Coach Alexis Dixon said, “Overall, we’ll take this game as a learning experience and take the things we need to work on for our next game.” Dixon also said, “The girls that came off the bench did well handling their jobs. Toward the end, we did better moving the ball and looking for more options. We also made a lot of free-throws during the game.”
The next game for C-team is Saturday, December 15, at Columbus Scotus High School.
JH Girls Win Wayne Tourney
by Tazlynn Sporleder
The Pierce junior high girls played at Wayne in a tournament on Saturday, December 8. They got 1st in the tournament.
In their first game, the Lady Jays played against GACC. In the first half, Kallie Edins and Ella Gaes each scored a two-pointer, Isabella Skrdla hit a free-throw, and Morgan Moeller scored two two-pointers to aid her team. Pierce’s defense held GACC to six points in the first half. In the second half, Moeller scored four points on two two-pointers, Ciara Garcia scored a two-pointer, and Alyssa Cederburg also scored a two-pointer. With the Lady Jays holding GACC to six points for the half, the final score was 17-12 with Pierce on top.
In the second game against Wayne, the Lady Jays dominated the court, scoring 24 points in the first half while holding the Blue Devils to only five. In the first half, Regan Theisen scored a two-pointer, Gaes score three two-pointers, Moeller scored two three-pointers and two two-pointers, Cederburg scored two two-pointers, and Garcia also scored a two-pointer. In the second half, Cederburg, Gaes, and Addison Sporleder scored a two-pointer each. Although the Blue Devils outscored Pierce in the second half with 14 points, the final score was 30-21 in the Lady Jays’ favor.
Coach Brenda Fleecs said, “This is the first time we won the tournament since this year’s senior class was in junior high. It was a great accomplishment for the girls.”
The next junior high games are at Norfolk Catholic on Saturday, December 15.
