Lady Jays Basketball
Launch the media gallery 1 playerLady Jays Fall to Crofton
by MacKenzie Peters
The Pierce Lady Jays competed against Crofton on Thursday, January 25, at Crofton High School. The game ended with the Warriors on top with a score of 46-58.
Starting off the first half of the game, Maggie Brahmer scored three two-pointers, Zoe Brenden scored two two-pointers, and Kenzie Moeller scored one two-pointer to aid the Lady Jays’ efforts. This concluded the first quarter with 12 points on the board for the Lady Jays. The first quarter ended as a tie game, as the Warriors scored 12 points as well.
During the second quarter, Brahmer put two more points on the board after making a two-point shot. Both Abigail Meier and Moeller scored two points from behind the free-throw line, which gave the Lady Jays four more points. The Lady Jays fell behind the Warriors after Crofton scored 11 points on Pierce’s defense in the quarter. The Lady Jays left the first half behind the Warriors 18-23.
Entering the second half of the game, Kayla Simmons made a three-point shot to start the Lady Jays off. Brahmer also put three points on the board after making three free-throws. Finally, Brenden scored four points, making a two-point shot and two free-throws. The Lady Jays were still unable to get ahead of the Warriors, who put up 14 on the Lady Jays in the third. The quarter concluded with a score of 28-37.
During the final quarter, Simmons and Moeller both put three points on the board, and Brenden scored five points for the team by making a two-point shot and three free-throws. Brianna Aguilera scored both a three-point shot and a free-throw. Finally, Brahmer scored a two-point shot and a free throw. The Lady Jays’ final quarter effort was not enough to get ahead of Crofton’s 21 points made in the quarter. By the end of the game, the Lady Jays were behind the Warriors with a score of 46-58.
Head coach Darren Sindelar said, “I thought our effort was there. The girls played hard. To get back on the winning track, we have to be disciplined and consistent for four quarters. That has to be there in practice as well as games.”
The varsity Lady Jays will play again next Thursday, January 31, in the Mid-State Conference tournament.
JV Lady Jays Defeat Warriors
by Sarah Miller
The JV Lady Jays traveled to Crofton to take on the Warriors and came away with a 31-21 victory on Thursday, January 24.
Starting things off in the first quarter, the Lady Jays went point-for-point with the Warriors and ended the quarter tied 6-6. Scoring for the Lady Jays were Kennedy Warneke with a two-pointer and a three-pointer and Abigail Meier with a free throw.
In the second quarter, the Lady Jays scored another five points courtesy of Graison Pfeiffer with a two-pointer and Warneke with a three-pointer. With the Warriors outscoring the Lady Jays by one, Pierce ended the half just trailing the Warriors with a score of 11-12.
After halftime, the Lady Jays came out and scored eight points. Scoring for the Lady Jays were Faith Lubischer with two three-pointers and Mikala Stone with a two. The Warriors also managed eight points on the Lady Jays. At the end of the quarter, the Jays were down 19-20.
In the fourth quarter, the Lady Jays outscored the Warriors 12 points to one to snatch the win. The Lady Jays had four scorers in the fourth quarter. Gina Wragge scored one free throw, and Brynnlee Marks scored a two-pointer. Also adding to the score was Graison Pfeiffer with two free throws and Kennedy Warneke with a three, a two-pointer, and two free throws. The Lady Jays ended the game with a 31-21 victory over the Warriors.
The Lady Jays play Wynot next at home on Tuesday, February 5, starting at 4:30.
Freshman Lady Jays Fall in GACC Tournament
by Kendra Schulz
The freshman Lady Jays battled both Norfolk Catholic and Wayne on Saturday, January 26, during the Guardian Angels Central Catholic tournament, but fell to both in two close games.
In the first half of the Norfolk Catholic game, the Lady Jays had the lead, outscoring the Knights 16-12. Payten Simmons led the Lady Jays in scoring this half, putting up two baskets and a pair of free throws. Kennedy Warneke had a two-pointer and a three, Samantha Fischer had two baskets, and Gina Wragge topped things off with a free throw. In the second half, the Knights managed to edge out the Lady Jays for the win. Simmons had eight points in the half, along with Wragge who had ten. With the Lady Jays allowing 23 points from the Knights, Catholic took the win 34-35.
The Lady Jays took on Wayne next. Once again, Pierce had the lead during the first half of play, holding Wayne to seven points and putting up 12 of their own courtesy of Simmons with eight, Brynnlee Marks with three, and Graison Pfeifer with one. The Lady Jays put up fourteen points in the second half with Simmons scoring eight, Marks scoring four, and Wragge scoring two, but Wayne found their momentum and put up 21 in the second half to take the game 26-28.
The freshman Lady Jays will play again Monday, February 4, at Norfolk Public.
Freshman Lady Jays Win Nail-Biter
by Elizabeth Hammer
The freshman Lady Jays defeated Norfolk Catholic by a close score of 31-30 at Pierce on Monday, January 21.
Starting in the first quarter, Kennedy Warneke made a three and a two-point shot. Brynnlee Marks also scored two points and made both of her free throws. The Knights scored only three points on the Lady Jays in the first, ending the quarter with a score of 9-3.
In the second quarter, Gina Wragge scored a total of four points for the Lady Jays, and Norfolk Catholic began to catch up and added seven points to their score. The score for the half had the Lady Jays up 13-10.
Starting up the third quarter, Warneke and Makinzie Parsons both scored a two-point shot and made a free throw. To round off the quarter, Marks made a two-pointer. The Knights continued to close in on the Lady Jays’ lead and scored ten points in the third. The score after three was a close 21-20.
In the fourth quarter, Wragge scored a three and a two-pointer. Warneke made one free throw, and Alexus Sindelar hit a two-point shot and one free throw. The Knights caught up to the Lady Jays in the fourt and tied the game 30-30 to send it into overtime.
The Lady Jays ended the game in overtime with a free throw made by Warneke as the defense held the Knights from scoring.
Coach Alexis Dixon said, “I felt like the girls fought through the entire game. Even when we were ahead, we didn’t really give up to much, and we will just keep working on the basic skills and trying to be consistent throughout the entire game.”
The freshman Lady Jays play again on Monday, February 4, at Norfolk.
JH Lady Jays Finish Season Against Panthers
by Morgan Crist
The junior high Lady Jays defeated the Norfolk Panthers on Tuesday, January 22, at the home of the Panthers. The A team finished with a score of 31-13 while the B team ended their game with a score of 16-0.
In the first quarter of A team’s game, Alyssa Cederburg scored two points for the Lady Jays, followed by Ella Gaes and Morgan Moeller. Cederburg then scored another two points and was matched by Moeller and Gaes. The Panthers managed just two two-point shots this quarter, bringing the score to 12-4. In the second quarter Moeller sunk two two-point shots. Afterwards, Addison Sporleder made both of her free throws, and Ciara Garcia finished off the quarter with a two-pointer. In this quarter, the Panthers put up just two more points. This brought the halftime score to 20-6. Kicking off the third quarter was Gaes with a two point shot, followed by Moeller, Cederburg, and Reagan Theisen. Putting up only three points on the Lady Jays’ defense, the Panthers trailed the Lady Jays 28-9 after three. In the fourth and final quarter, Pierce added three more points to their score courtesy of Madelyn Hanson from behind the arc. The Panthers attempted to catch up with four more points of their own, but the Lady Jays kept their commanding lead and won 31-13.
The B team played two quarters and finished with a score of 16-0. In the first quarter, Pierce put up 10 points. Scoring two points was Hanson, followed by Isabella Skrdla, and Haley Deboer. Hanson then put up another two points and was followed by Morgan Schnoor. In the second quarter, Pierce added an additional six points. All were two point shots made by Garcia.
This was the last game of the junior high Lady Jays’ 2019 season. The A team ended with a record of 10-1, while the B team ended with a record of 3-3.
Coach Brenda Fleecs said the thing she was most proud of throughout the team’s season was “that they continued to improve as individuals and as a team and build their confidence in their play.”
