After losing four of their top five scorers from a season ago, not much was expected of this year’s Sigourney girls’ basketball team.  But that didn’t stop them.  Instead, they actually surpassed last season’s win total by upping the ante on defense; the numbers agree.

One of the major things that set the Savages apart from the rest of the South Iowa Cedar League was their ability to take the ball away.  As a team, they led the league in steals with 324.  They also had the conference’s two individual steals leaders in Summer Barthelman and Megan Stuhr.  Stuhr’s 103 total steals were the ninth-most in Class 1A.

In addition to taking it away, they simply stopped the other team from scoring better.  Despite dropping the rebound total between the two seasons by over 100, they also allowed 70 less points to be scored on them from last year to this year.  They dropped their points-per-game total by nearly 20 from a season ago, but their defense proved that offense isn’t everything.

Of the 13 players on the Sigourney girls’ basketball roster, only two of them are graduating: Summer Barthelman and Ryleigh Leonard.  The rest of the group, which includes the top three scorers and rebounders from this season, will be back next year.