Lady Jays Basketball
Girls Basketball Takes a Loss to Guardian Angels Central Catholic
By Addison Sporleder
The Pierce girls basketball team took on the Guardian Angels Central Catholic (GACC) Bluejays in West Point on Thursday, February 9, but despite all efforts, the Lady Jays fell 50-33.
Beginning in the first quarter, Pierce put four points on the board. Those came from Morgan Moeller with a bucket and two free throws.
In the second quarter, the Lady Jays added three more points to their total. Moeller contributed another basket, along with Hadley Wragge making a free throw.
Coming back after halftime, Pierce came out strong with scoring 12 points in the third quarter. Wragge made a basket along with Moeller making one as well and a 3-pointer. Skylar Scholting recorded her first points of the night by making a 2-pointer and three free throws.
For the final quarter, the Lady Jays finished strong by scoring 15 points. Abigail Cone made her first basket of the night, along with Ava Knox scoring her first points with a 3-pointer, 2-pointer, and free throw. Moeller made two free throws, and Scholting sank three. Scholting also contributed a bucket for the quarter. However, Pierce could not catch back up, ending the game at 50-33.
Scholting commented, “We didn’t start off the way we wanted to but we rallied back to get it within six. We just weren’t able to make some of our shots down the stretch.”
Head coach Darren Sindelar stated, “Last night was a tough one. We got behind early and worked hard to cut it to single digits before half. I thought we had a little momentum to start the second half, but we came out a little flat instead. GACC came out with more energy than us, we couldn’t match it. We need to continue to work on being consistent. If we can do that, we can be successful in the postseason.”
The Lady Jays will be competing in sub districts this week held at Pierce High School.
Lady Jays Battle Against the Patriots
By Brielle Unseld
The Pierce Lady Jays defended their home court against the Clarkson-Leigh Patriots on February 7, but unfortunately, Pierce ended the night with a tight loss of 37-34.
The Lady Jays started off with four points in the first quarter compared to the Patriots’ score of six. Morgan Moeller was the sole scorer with two free throws paired with a basket.
In the second quarter, Pierce put up three points, but Clarkson-Leigh pushed through with nine points. Moeller made another basket, and Hadley Wragge sank a free throw, leaving the score at 14-7 at halftime.
Coming out from halftime, the Lady Jays found their groove, adding on twelve points, holding the Patriots to only seven points in the third quarter. Skylar Scholting added five points with a basket and sank three throws. Wragge made another basket, and Moeller boosted the Lady Jays’ score by five points with a 3-pointer and 2-pointer.
Morgan Moeller, Pierce’s top scorer, remarks, “I am very proud of how hard everyone worked. Obviously, it is very hard to win games if you aren't scoring any points, but in the second half we really worked to stay confident and to never give up on it.”
The Lady Jays kept their fire going during the fourth quarter with fifteen points. Ava Knox hit a 3-pointer, 2-pointer, and a free throw while Abigail Cone made a basket to help the Lady Jays. Scholting kept fighting with three free throws and a basket, raising Pierce’s score by five more points. Moeller sank two more free throws, but the Lady Jays just fell short with the Patriots also scoring fifteen in the fourth quarter.
“I really think our girls continued to play good defense and kept attacking offense. They kept the confidence during that second half to be able to come back,” remarks head coach Darren Sindelar. “For GACC, we’ve got to handle their pressure on offense and be able to play good defense, and we’ll be in it in the fourth quarter.”
The Lady Jays will host the sub district tournament this week.
