The Saydel Eagles finished a four game sweep of the Greene County Rams in high school basketball Friday night.
The girls lost the first game of the evening 43-30, a score considerably closer than when the teams met last week. That game was 60-32 for the Eagles, who were ranked 15th last week. They’re now ranked 11th in Class 3A.
In their first meeting, turnovers plagued the Rams, with their 33 turnovers giving the Eagles too many easy breaks for the basket. The Rams managed the ball better against the Saydel defense in the second game, committing 18 turnovers, just two more than the Eagles.
The Eagles scored 13 points before Kayla Mobley finally put the Rams on the scoreboard with a pair of free throws. Score after one quarter was 13-4. The Eagles were up by 10 points, 22-12 at the half, and they stretched the lead to 16 points, 37-21 after three quarter.
The Rams typically have at least a couple of 3-point baskets. Their outside shooting was cold Friday night as they went 0-7 on 3-point shots. The Eagles were 2-7 on long baskets.
Mobley led the Rams in scoring with 15 points. Tressa Rasmussen and Marissa Promes both scored four points Jolee Wessling scored three, and Stacy Mears and Hannah Onken each scored two points. It was Senior Night for the Rams. The team has been a senior team all season, with sophomore Kenna Marquardt being the only underclassman to play in the regular rotation in every game. Sophomore Hannah Promes played regularly until an injury early in the season.
The loss was the fifth consecutive for the Ram girls. They’re now 7-12 overall and 7-10 in the Heart of Iowa Activities Conference.
The Ram girls will host Panorama in the gymnasium in Rippey next Monday. Wessling and Onken will be returning to the gym where they started their basketball careers as East Greene Hawkettes. The gymnasium will be dedicated to Bill and Maybelle Wisecup, longtime East Greene benefactors, during the break between the JV and varsity games.
The boys lost their first game against the Eagles by two points in overtime, 66-64. They lost Friday night by 10 points, 73-63, but the game was close until the end.
The Eagles scored the first six points of the game but after one quarter the Rams were ahead 17-15. They trailed by two at the half, 31-29. They had been down 30-21 when senior Landon Braun scored six points, a 3-pointer, a field goal and then a free throw, all within about 10 seconds with 1:40 to play in the half.
It was still a three point game after three quarters, 48-45. The Eagles built their lead to eight points midway through the quarter, but the Rams stayed in the game, thanks in great part to hot play by senior Riah Nelsen. Nelsen was eight for eight shooting from the floor. He missed a pair of free throws but finished the game with 16 points.
The Rams fought to tie the score 59-59 with three minutes to play, but accurate shooting by the Eagles made the difference. The Eagles scored the next seven points for a 66-59 lead. Free throw shooting made the final score. Of the last 14 points the Eagles scored, 10 were at the free throw line. For the game, the Eagles made 15 of 19 free throws. The Rams scored only twice on their seven shots from the line.
The Eagles came into the game shooting 39 percent as a team. They made 26 of 43 shots in this meeting for a 60 percent success rate. Six Eagles scored higher than their season averages. The Rams made 28 of 64 shots for 44 percent.
Tucker scored 22 points for the game with one 3-point shot. Reid Lamoureux scored 12, including two 3-pointers. It was his second 3-pointer that knotted the score at 59. Landon Braunn scored nine points with two 3-pointers, a field goal and a free throw, and Mitchell Gorsuch and Wade Adcock each scored two points. The basket was freshman Adcock’s first at the varsity level.
The Ram boys have lost six games in a row, although some have been by narrow margins. They’re now 6-10 in the HOIAC and 6-12 overall.
