Lady Jays Basketball
Launch the media gallery 1 playerLady Jays Sweep Cedar Catholic
By Natalie Kosch
The Pierce Lady Jays went up against the Hartington Cedar Catholic Trojans in Pierce on Saturday, February 4, and with a close game Pierce earned the win and third place honors in the Mid-State conference tournament with a score of 44-39.
Starting the game, the Lady Jays scored eight points. Hadley Wragge and Morgan Moeller each made a basket. Skylar Scholting made a basket and a free throw, while Aubrey Hanson also sank a free throw.
Ava Knox comments, “Facing a little adversity, we came out strong defensively and carried it on throughout our offense.”
During the second quarter Scholting, Abigail Cone, and Moeller added 14 more points to the scoreboard. Scholting had nine with a 3-pointer, two 2-pointers, and two free throws. Moeller had four with one 2-pointer and she sank two free throws, and Cone sank a free throw.
Closing the third quarter, the Lady Jays upped their score by 10 points. Scholting contributed two 3-pointers and a free throw, along with Moeller sinking a 3-pointer.
In the last quarter, Knox and Scholting each made a basket. Moeller made an impressive eight free throws to top it off.
Head coach Darren Sindelar comments, “Overall, I feel this may have been the most complete game we have played all year. We got behind early and had to work to catch back up. We made a couple adjustments defensively that slowed them down. We had opportunities to close the game out, but we missed some free throws at the end of the game. Luckily, we had a few individuals make plays during this time to help keep possession of the basketball. The girls have worked extremely hard. We are really looking to be a consistent team on the defensive and offensive side of the court. We are improving in both aspects. The girls have put themselves in a good position heading into sub-districts.”
The Lady Jays will make their next appearance on Thursday, February 9, against Guardian Angels Central Catholic at a game in West Point.
Pierce Falls to GACC
By Jana Stone
The Pierce Lady Jays played against Guardian Angels Central Catholic at our home court in the semifinals of the Mid-State conference tournament, and Pierce fell short of the victory 41-29.
In the first quarter, Guardian Angels scored 13 points on Pierce, but that did not stop the fight for the Pierce Lady Jays. Shots were not falling easily for the Lady Jays, but Hadley Wragge scored all five points. Madelyn Hanson, Wragge, and Skylar Scholting got one foul each.
In the second quarter the Pierce Lady Jays fought back and only let Guardian Angels score five points while the Pierce Lady Jays made eight baskets. Ava Knox and Morgan Moeller sank a 3-pointer each and Scholting scored a 2-pointer. Knox had one foul for this quarter.
“Overall we played pretty well,” Scholting says. “We did an excellent job of rebounding but we just couldn’t get our shots to fall.”
After half time the Lady Jays kept up with Central Catholic. While Central Catholic scored nine points, and Pierce scored eight points. Wragge, Abigail Cone, Knox, and Scholting all made a 2-pointer each. Knox and Cone received one foul each.
Pierce hustled hard and tried to keep Guardian Angels Central Catholic held back. Central Catholic scored 14 points and the Pierce lady Jays scored eight points. Wragge, Knox, and Moeller all made a 2-pointer each. Cone and Knox each sank a free throw. Most of the fouls came from the fourth quarter. Scholting had three free throws, Moeller received two fouls, M. Hanson, Aubrey Hanson, and Emily Endorf all had one foul each.
Darren Sindelar, head coach comments, “We showed flashes of playing very well against GACC, especially defensively. Our defense kept us in the game, but on offense, we were inconsistent and our shots did not fall early. It is hard when you get behind a good team early.”
The Pierce Lady Jays fell short and the end score was 41-29.
The Lady Jays will next play against GACC on Thursday, February 9, in West Point.
Lady Jays Sweep the Lady Knights
By Brooke Reddest
On Tuesday, January 31, the Pierce Lady Jays dribbled their way into a win against the Norfolk Catholic Knights with a final score of 55-31 in a first round game of the Mid-State conference tournament.
Sophomore Aubrey Hanson states, “The first time [we played Norfolk Catholic], I felt that my defense wasn’t the absolute best, so when I came out into [the] Norfolk Catholic [game] I had that mindset that I was going to do great on defense, and I was going to be really aggressive on defense.”
The first quarter ended with a score of 18-10, in favor of the Lady Jays.
In the second quarter, the Lady Jays added six points to the scoreboard and the Knights scored nine, making the score 24-19 at the half.
After halftime was over, the Lady Jays were back and ready to play and proved so by adding 13 points to the board, while holding the Knights to five, making the score 37-24.
During quarter four, the Lady Jays finished the game by scoring 18 more points to the Norfolk Catholic’s seven for a final score of 55-31 in favor of the Lady Jays.
The leading scorer of the game for Pierce was Morgan Moeller with 22 points. Following Moeller were Skylar Scholting with 12, Hadley Wragge adding 10, Ava Knox scoring seven, and Aubrey Hanson contributing four.
Head coach Darren Sindelar comments, “It was good to get a chance to play Norfolk Catholic again. I didn’t feel like we played up to our capabilities the first game. We played better on both the offensive and defensive ends. The game is a lot easier when the ball goes into the basket early. We improved on the boards and cut down on the opportunities to score.”
The Lady Jays will be back in action at home on Thursday, February 2, against Guardian Angels Central Catholic.
