Results from Maconaquah for Saturday, February 1st
The Lady Braves traveled to Walton to face a strong Cass team with a record of 15-6 leading up to their Friday night game. Both teams showcased their skills, which will benefit them as they head into sectional play next week. In the first quarter, the Lady Braves experienced some difficulties with their shooting, making only three of twelve attempts from the floor. In contrast, Cass excelled with an impressive five for seven shooting performance, achieving 71% accuracy. However, the Lady Braves stayed competitive, thanks to timely three-point shots by Delaney Betzner. As a result, they managed to cut into Cass’s lead, ending the quarter down 8-14. The second quarter saw the Lady Braves ramping up their defense, making it challenging for Cass to score. They held Cass to just two of eleven shooting and forced five turnovers. Offensively, the Lady Braves improved, shooting five of twelve and committing only three turnovers. Four different players contributed to the scoring, with Ireland Kile leading the charge with five points. Kasey Murry and Aubrey Stoll also contributed with three-pointers. The Lady Braves outscored Cass 13-5 in this quarter, taking a 21-19 lead into halftime. In the third quarter, Cass gained momentum, forcing eight turnovers from the Lady Braves. The Lady Braves struggled offensively, making just one field goal but managed to get to the free-throw line, converting two of four attempts. This shift in mindset led to more aggressive play as they attacked the basket in the final quarter. However, Cass outscored the Lady Braves 12-5 in this period, taking a 31-26 lead into the final quarter. The last quarter saw both teams ramping up their offensive efforts, attacking each other off the dribble. Ireland Kile was particularly effective, going five for six from the free-throw line, while Addie Maiben hit two three-pointers, narrowing Cass’s lead to 40-39 with about two minutes left in the game. Cass’s point guard, Aftin Griffin, had a standout quarter, scoring nine of her total twenty-two points. Cass also went five for five from the free-throw line, helping them secure the victory. Before the game, Mylie Sipe, an Indiana Tech signee from Cass, was averaging over 9 points per game and was the team’s leading three-point shooter. Throughout most of the game, Aubrey Kaiser was tasked with guarding Sipe. With strong support from the rest of the Lady Braves’ defense, they successfully limited Sipe to zero points on four attempts and recorded only two rebounds. Looking ahead, the Lady Braves’ next game is set for Wednesday, February 5, in the Twin Lakes Sectional against the host school, Twin Lakes. They will play in the second game of the night at 7:30 PM. Game Stats: Transition Points: +2 Second Chance Points: +6 Offensive Rebounds: +3 Steals: +2 Individual Stats: Ireland Kile: 14 points, 2 assists Delaney Betzner: 11 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals Addie Maiben: 9 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals Aubrey Stoll: 5 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals Kasey Murry: 3 points, 2 rebounds Aubrey Kaiser: 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals Team Contributions: Averie Maiben and Gabby Griffis both provided great energy during their time on the floor. Additionally, the players from the bench contributed by offering energy and positive encouragement throughout the game.
Varsity vs Lewis Cass Jr-Sr High School (72 – 34) Win Coach Burrus Quotes: “Great road, TRC win for us. Great crowd of support from Mac Nation. It didn’t feel like a road game. That is a credit to our fans. That was impressive. I thought we played very well on both ends. Our defense was good throughout the game. Basketball is a team game. I feel everyone has really been playing well, and really coming together. AJ Kelly ran the floor very well and earned his 20 points. Devon Murry had 6 assists and Fuddy Kile had 5 assists. AJ and Fuddy both had 4 steals. Landon Adams was very active with Murry out front on defense. We turned defense into offense most of the game. We are now 4-0 in the TRC. Our next TRC game is Thursday vs Northwestern. They are 6-1 in the TRC. Big game. Josiah Ball became the all-time leading scorer for both boys and girls basketball. He surpassed Lilly Maple, who was a tremendous player for the girls, at Maconaquah. Josiah had a great game to get the record. He scored 34 points and really shot well. Congratulations to Josiah for this huge, historic accomplishment. We are hoping Josiah can hit the number of 2,000 points. This would put him in some very select company in Indiana Basketball. It has been great to watch Josiah hit these different milestones. Scoring 2,000 points means a player needs to average 500 points every year. Let’s hope he can make it!” Ball 34pts 6reb 4ast 3st Kelly 20pts 5reb 1ast 4st Kile 6pts 5reb 5ast 2bl 4st Adams, L. 4pts 2reb 1ast Murry 4pts 3reb 6ast 2st Gochenour 2pts 1ast Nipper 2pts Ambrose 2reb 1bl
Varsity vs Brownsburg High School (52 – 71) Loss Coach Burrus Quotes: “This was a very tough game for us. We shot a low percentage in a game where we needed to make a lot of shots. Brownsburg had a lot to do with that. They really posed a lot of problems to get into offense. On the other end, they were very difficult to keep off the boards. Fuddy Kile battled hard for 8 rebounds. He was giving up lots of inches against Brownsburg. He did all he could do in there on defense. AJ Kelly really fought through the guard quickness he was facing. AJ does it all for us. I liked his 7 of 8 free throw shooting. AJ is within 117 points of 1000 points. AJ deserves this milestone! We will hope he can get this done! Josiah Ball scored 24 points and was chased the whole game. Josiah always finds a way to score. Devon Mrurry and Landon Adams had 3 assists each. We faced a lot of adversity in this game. If you take out the second quarter the score was Brownsburg 52, Maconaquah 47. That is with a lot of missed opportunities, too. We had way too many turnovers. Brownsburg also `brought in some younger players in the 4th quarter. One lesson from this game is the importance of playing 32 minutes. One really bad quarter can change the rest of the game. We have played a very difficult schedule since Christmas. Peru, Kokomo, Western, Hamilton Heights, at Cass, and now Brownsburg. We were 5-1 during this stretch. We have Tipton tomorrow night. We don’t play on Monday night very often. Tipton is another big challenge with a record of 10-5. Thanks for the support of our kids home, and away. The players on the team really appreciate all the people who come to the games, listen on the radio, or even just check on our team to see how we are doing. Thank You!!!” Ball 24pts 6reb 1ast 1bl 2st Kelly 13pts 2reb 2ast 1bl Kile 8pts 8reb 2bl 1st Gochenour 4pts Murry 3pts 2reb 3ast 2st Adams, L. 3ast Richards 1reb 1ast Nipper 1ast