Orange City Iowa — Sheldon and Unity Christian split a non conference basketball doubleheader Monday night at the Unity High School Gym. The girls game went to Unity 66-34 with the Orabs claiming the boys game 55-51.
In the girls game the two time defending State Champion Knights led at all the breaks up 20-10 after the first quarter and 37-21 at the half. The advantage was 53-28 after three with Unity winning 66-34.
The Knights got a game high 22 points from Josie Blankenspoor hitting from inside and another 18 from outside as Justine Malenke dropped 6 three-point buckets on the night. Sheldon was led by Bryn Groff with 8 points in the ballgame.
With the win Unity runs their season mark to 5-1. After dropping their season opener the Knights are on a 5 game winning streak. Sheldon falls to 1-7.
In the boys contest Sheldon nailed down the win at the free throw line for the second straight game. With the Orabs up by two points with :05 seconds left Kyle Boerhave hit a pair of free throws to give Sheldon a 2 possession lead. The Orabs got the win 55-51.
Unity led 14-10 after the first quarter. At halftime the score was tied at 23-23 with Unity regaining the lead 38-33 after three quarters. The two teams traded the lead numerous times in the fourth quarter with Sheldon claiming a 55-51 non conference win.
Jaden Kleinhesslink led all scorers with 12 points. His line included 4 two-point buckets and a 4-of-5 performance at the line. That included converting 3 and-one opportunities. Two of those and-one’s came late in the fourth quarter. Mitchal Van Gorp scored 10 points including a pair of three-point buckets in the fourth quarter. Unity was led by Luke Neuiwendorp with 11 points. Mason Post and Jonah Vander Kooi had 9 points each.
With the win Sheldon improves to 6-1 for the year while Unity stands at 3-3 on the season. The Knights are off now for the holidays. Sheldon returns to the Siouxland Conference battles Tuesday night with a stop at George Little Rock to wrap up the pre holiday schedule. We’ll bring you the coverage with pregame for the girls at 6:05 with the boys to follow on KIWA FM 105.3.
