Lady Jays Basketball
Lady Jays Brought Down by the Flyers
by Maddie Huber
The Lady Jays faced the Humphrey St. Francis Flyers but unfortunately did not come out on top on Thursday, January 16. The final score was 37-57.
The Lady Jays were able to score nine points in the first quarter to the Lady Flyers 21. Going into the second quarter the Lady Jays also scored nine points, holding the Flyers to 10.
After coming back from the halftime break, the Lady Jays were able to score another 12 points and only allowed 14 from the Lady Flyers. To end the game the Lady Jays scored seven points, and again the Flyers scored 12.
Senior Zoe Brenden was the leading scorer with 18 points. Following her was freshman Morgan Moeller with seven points. Sophomore Payten Simmons added six. Sophomores Gina Wragge and Graison Pfeiffer, as well as junior Kenzie Moeller had two points to add to the score.
Coach Darren Sindelar stated, “I thought we did some good things and other times we didn't play as well as I thought we could have. When you are playing quality opponents, you cannot have breakdowns on either end of the court. Looking toward conference, we need to be consistent in our play. We need to start putting whole games together. Conference and moving into districts is when we want to peak.”
The Lady Jays will be back in action at Wynot on Thursday and Saturday against the Battle Creek Bravettes.
Varsity Lady Jays Slip by the Viqueens
by Elizabeth Hammer
The Lady Jays journeyed to Columbus Lakeview on Tuesday, January 14, and beat the Viqueens with a close score of 40-38.
The first quarter started with the Lady Jays falling a little short with making six points from two 3-point shots made by Kenzie Moeller. The Viqueens made 10 total points ending the quarter with a score of 6-10.
In the second quarter the Lady Jays improved their score by adding 11 points to the scoreboard. K. Moeller made three 3-point shots, and Zoe Brenden made both of her foul shots. The Viqueens fell short and made 10 points. The half ended with the Lady Jays down 17-20.
After the half, more Pierce players started to make more of their shots fall. Faith Lubischer made one of her foul shots; Payten Simmons made a 2-pointer; K. Moeller made two 2-pointers; Morgan Moeller made one 2-point shot and one 3-pointer. The Lady Jays hald the Viqueens at nine points scored with the third quarter ending in a tied score of 29-29.
During the fourth quarter the Lady Jays kept up their scoring streak and with a total of 11 points scored. Brenden made both of her foul shots and M. Moeller made three 3-pointers. The Viqueens could not quite keep up and scored only nine total points. The game ended with the Lady Jays on top with a score of 40-38.
Head coach Darren Sindelar commented, “As a whole we just need to do a better job of controlling the tempo of the game and be more consistent of our play throughout the season. I thought that on the offensive end Kenzie and Morgan Moeller played really well by helping the team out and shooting from the outside. Zoe Brenden also also hit those big free throws at the end which was very good too.”
The varsity Lady Jays will next play at Wynot against the Wynot Blue Devils on Thursday, January 23.
JV Lady Jays Fall to Flyers
by MacKenzie Peters
The junior varsity girls basketball team took on Humphrey St. Francis on Thursday, January 16, in an away game ending with a score of 37-44.
Sophomore Kennedy Warneke led the team throughout the game with a strong start in the first quarter. Warneke managed to put seven points on the board for the Lady Jays, with two 2-pointers as well as a 3-point shot. Mikala Stone, a junior, also shot and made a 3-pointer. Ending the first quarter, the Lady Jays began their small lead to the Flyers, 10-7.
The second quarter slowed down slightly for both teams. Warneke was the only scorer in the quarter, making two 3-point shots. Going into halftime, the Lady Jays still kept their lead against the Flyers, 16-13.
Both teams turned up the heat to start the second half. Sophomore Graison Pfeiffer was able to give the Lady Jays seven points with three 2-pointers and a free throw. Alexus Sindelar also put up a 2-pointer and a 3-point shot during the quarter. Junior Abby Meier finished up the quarter with a free throw shot. While the Flyers outscored the Lady Jays in the third quarter, it was not enough to get ahead. The quarter ended 29-27.
In the final quarter, Warneke came back to score two more 3-pointers. Pfeiffer also put two more points on the scoreboard with a 2-pointer. On the other end of the court, Humphrey St. Francis put a little extra pressure on the Lady Jays and managed to score 17 points. This concluded the game 37-44, with the Flyers on top.
Coach Amber Henderson commented on the team’s performance, saying, “We have been playing pretty hard in the first three quarters all year, but we still need to figure out how to keep our leads better and keep playing with intensity in the fourth quarter despite who we have in the game.”
She continued, saying, “Kennedy has been a consistent scorer for us and has been a great threat offensively.”
The junior varsity team will play their next game against Wynot at Wynot High School on Thursday, January 23.
Lady Jays Takedown Viqueens
by Autumn Hanna
The Pierce JV girls played against Columbus Lakeview girls on Tuesday, January 14, at Columbus Lakeview High School. The Lady Jays were victorious over the Viqueens with a score of 40-33.
Kicking off the night, there were five points scored by the Lady Jays in the first quarter. All of these points were made by Addison Sporleder. Sporleder made two 2-pointers, as well as one free throw.
In the second quarter, the Lady Jays put 10 more points on the scoreboard. Kennedy Warneke made one 3-pointer, and one 2-pointer. Graison Pfeiffer made another 2-pointer, and Gina Wragge made the last 3-pointer.
After halftime, the Lady Jays made another 14 points to bring their score to 29 points. Warneke and Mikala Stone both made seven points in the third quarter.
In the final quarter, Pierce secured the win with 11 more points. Wragge made two points, as well as Warneke. Stone made three points, all with free throws. Savannah Gilmore made two 2-pointers as well ending the night with a final score of 40-33, with Pierce defeating Lakeview.
JV coach Amber Henderson comments,”I think we played pretty well. We always start well, we just need to remember to finish a game and adjust things on the go.”
