Photos Courtesy of MP Sports Social Media (Nicole Miller)
Two games, two wins for the Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk basketball teams Thursday at Tim Grady Gymnasium in Wellman as they swept away the visiting West Liberty Comets in a River Valley Conference doubleheader. The Golden Hawk girls got the job done 49-42. Leading 14-12 after the first, Mid-Prairie put together a 13-2 run in the second frame to take a 28-20 lead into half. A 9-0 Comet run in the third brought them back within one, the Hawks answered to push the lead to six going to the fourth and hold West Liberty at bay down the stretch. Mid-Prairie won the boards 35-26, had 15 team assists, and 11 steals. Jovi Evans led the Mid-Prairie attack with 21 points, Callie Huber added 10, Katelyn Harland had eight rebounds and Nora Pennington five assists. Evans, the Golden Hawk of the Game, joined the KCII Postgame Show to talk about the night for her and her team. Evans said, “Most of my points were on layups. Getting down the court, beating everybody back and being confident with my shot. It was very physical tonight. When I go in I think ‘I’m bigger than all these girls’ and have the confident to be able to play with them and rebounds. I think we got a little more comfortable late, played better defense and fought back at the end.”
With the win, Mid-Prairie is now 7-5 on the year, West Liberty falls to 2-10. The Golden Hawk girls are back in action tonight when they host West Branch.
The Mid-Prairie boys put in a workmanlike performance to take a 61-48 victory over the visitors from West Liberty. The Hawks held an 18-11 lead after the first and took a 29-22 lead into the break. Mid-Prairie made their move in the third, scoring 14 straight to open up a 23 point lead. The Comets answered the Golden Hawk sprint with one of their own, pouring in 17 straight to climb back within six in the final frame. The Hawks got it done on the defensive end to see their way to a win. Mid-Prairie knocked down 11 threes as a team, won the boards by 12 and the turnover battle 13-10. Ace Peck led Mid-Prairie with 16 points, including four threes, Brady Weber went double double with 16 points and 10 assists to go with seven boards and four steals, Bryce Henry had 14 points and Conner Wiles a dozen rebounds. Weber, the Golden Hawk of the Game, joined the KCII Postgame Show to talk about the win. Weber said, “Against a zone like they play, we need to drive and collapse the defense. The kick-outs are always there. We know we have great shooters even though we struggled at times tonight. It really comes down to confidence. Once we see a few go in it gets contagious. We did a good job hitting the boards. We had to limit their run and weather the storm. We had a lot of guys step up tonight. Kurt Schneider had some big and ones, Conner Wiles had great minutes, and I think just all-around, top to bottom, we played with great energy tonight.”
Mid-Prairie is now 5-5 on the year. The Hawks are back on the floor Saturday for the River Valley Shootout at Maquoketa against Bellevue.