Sergeant Bluff, Iowa — Western Christian and Sergeant Bluff-Luton split a non conference doubleheader Thursday night in Sergeant Bluff. The girls game went to Western 63-55, while the boys game went to the Warriors 71-56.
In the girls contest, Sergeant Bluff-Luton had a two point lead after one quarter of play at 21-19, and heading into the halftime break had a 33-28 lead. In the third quarter, Western Christian went on a 7-0 run late in the third to tie the game up at 45-45, and heading into the final quarter, the game was tied at 47-47. Western Christian was able to hit some key free throws down the stretch and came away with the 63-55 win.
Western got a game high seventeen points from Emma Bousema, while SB-L had two players in double figures. Abby Wisecup had a team high fourteen, and Madelyn Morgensen added thirteen.
Western improves to 4-4 on the year, while the Warriors fall to 3-4 on the season.
Sergeant Bluff-Luton used a big second half and thirteen three pointers to take the boys game. The game was tight in the first half. The Warriors jumped out to a 17-6 lead early, but Western went on an 11-0 run to end the first quarter tied at 17-17. Both teams traded baskets in the 2nd quarter, and heading into the break the game remained tied at 31-31. SB-L was able to pull away in the 3rd, leading 50-40 heading into the fourth, and came away with the 71-56 win.
The Warriors had four players in double figures. Jake Layman had a team high twenty points, while Sam DeMoss added seventeen. Connor Groves and Daniel Wright each had eleven points. Western Christian had two players in double figures. Clay VanTol had a game high twenty-three points and Carter Broek had fourteen.
Western falls to 4-2 on the year. Sergeant Bluff-Luton improves to 5-2 on the season.
Coach Keizer had this to say about the boys game, “We knew tonight was going to be a very tough game coming into it. We were facing a highly ranked 3A team on their home floor with a couple of veteran guards. Give credit to SBL, their guys kept making plays, primarily from the 3-point line.
They knocked us back on our heels a couple times and I felt we responded in a very positive way. I thought we did a lot of positive things tonight that showed some growth for our squad.
We only had 6 turnovers on the road, outrebounded SBL and I thought we played a nice defensive game for the most part. We obviously can’t give up 13 3-point baskets on 26 attempts, but they hit some tough shots with a hand in the face.
We’ve been through a whirlwind in this young season. I’m happy to see the progress we’ve made thus far and I’m excited to practice over the Christmas break. We’ve got a bunch of guys that want to get better and will put in the work to put us in a good position.”
Up next for the Wolfpack is a road contest at Cherokee on January 4th. The Warriors are on the road to LeMars on January 3rd.
