The Paton-Churdan Rockets split non-conference basketball games against Southeast Valley in Churdan Jan. 12.
Girls coach Chris Petersen said his team played “great team basketball at a fast pace” to earn a 73-36 win.
The Rockets were ahead 19-13 after the first quarter and 39-25 at halftime. The Jaguars had a dismal third quarter, scoring only three points and allowing the Rockets to build their lead to 35 points at 63-28. The pace slowed for the fourth quarter with the outcome of the game assured, as the Rockets put up 10 points to the Jaguars’ eight.
The Rockets’ 73 points were 20 above their average and most players scored above their personal averages.
Carleigh Paup scored 32 points, well ahead of her 24.8 point average, the highest of Class 1A girls. Paup’s 13 steals should put her at the top of the list in Class 1A when all Jan. 12 stats are entered. She also had seven assists.
Kasey Lane scored 12 points, also ahead of her 8.4 point average, and she led her team in rebounds with 10. Grace Geisler scored eight points, Reilly Niles and Megan Carey each scored six, Sydney Koch had five points and Jenna Beyers scored four. Carey had five rebounds, a season high for her.
“It was another fantastic team effort tonight. We played great transition basketball and did a good job of controlling them inside on both sides of the ball. Overall, it was a great team win,” coach Petersen said.
The girls are 8-5 overall after the win.
Boys coach Chris Stimson was also satisfied with how his team played, despite a 67-51 loss. “I am very happy with our efforts tonight. We did some good things against a 2A team that has had a good season so far,” he said. The Jaguars are 9-2 on the season, with their losses to St Edmond (Fort Dodge) and Roland-Story early in the season. Their win over the Rockets was their eighth consecutive win.
The Rockets are also having a successful season. The Tuesday night loss put them at 9-4 overall.
The Jaguars took an early lead and were up 20-14 after one quarter and 33-28 at halftime. The score was 50-41 to start the fourth quarter.
Stimson noted fresher legs on the Jaguars as the game wore on. “It makes a difference when I have four out of my five starters playing for 32 minutes and they have the flexibility to keep bringing them off the bench. My guys were pretty tired at the end of the game,” Stimson said.
Noah Juergensen led all scorers with 25 points and 13 rebounds. Jake Berns and Charlie Minnehan had 10 points each, with Berns adding eight rebounds to his game. Joe Towers and Trevor Bundt scored three points each.
