Friday night, the Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk boys and girls basketball teams traveled to West Branch, and it was strictly business for the black and gold crew, as they swept away the Bears on the home floor in both ends of a River Valley Conference doubleheader. The Golden Hawk girls got the night started with a commanding 55-23 victory. Mid-Prairie led 12-6 after one, then put together a 13-2 run that spanned the full second frame, putting the Bears through a seven minute drought from the floor to hold a 25-8 lead at half. The suffocating defensive effort continued after break, holding the Bears to just one field goal for the first six minutes of the third, raising the lead to 40-15 going to the fourth. The Golden Hawks won the final frame 15-8 to secure the win. After the game, girls head coach Danny Hershberger talked about his team’s effort.
Hershberger said, “I thought our defensive effort all night was great. Our press forced them into turnovers. In the half court we didn’t let them get good shots. We did a good job of rebounding most of the night. We knew that (Callie Huber and Brylee Gearhart) were going to have a big advantage for us inside. They’re our seniors, our leaders, they’ve stepped up and did it again tonight. When we needed a basket, they were able to finish for us. Izzy Kite had a really good game. She did a great job taking care of the basketball, getting us into our offense and knocking down some shots. Brooklyn Schneider played a really solid game defensively and hit a couple shots on offense. Tessa Bombei causes so many problems for the other team with her active defense. Myli Hershberger and Liv Swartzentruber had some really good minutes tonight.”
The Hawks forced 35 West Branch turnovers, won rebounds 40-20, had 27 steals and 16 assists. Callie Huber’s 14 points and eight boards led the way. Izzy Kite finished with eight points and five assists. West Branch got 10 points from Addy Schultes. The Golden Hawks remain unbeaten at 4-0 overall, 2-0 in conference, the Bears are 1-5.
The Mid-Prairie boys bested the Bears in a physical contest 63-46. Golden Hawk junior Bryce Henry put up 25 Thursday and the Hawks rode his hot hand again in the first half on the road, as he torched the Bears for 17 before the break, helping the Hawks to an 18-14 lead after one and 33-21 advantage at half. An 8-0 Mid-Prairie run early in the third pushed the lead as large as 21 before the Bears cut it to 13 on eight straight from Jayden Harris. The Hawks would face down the Bears run and put together one more of their own, pushing the lead back to 17 to close the door. Golden Hawk of the Game Brady Weber joined the KCII Postgame Show live to talk about the win.
Weber said, “Coming into West Branch we just knew that it was going to be a physical one and guys were really locked in. I told the guys ‘we have to keep our heads, the only way we lose this one is if we beat ourselves’. I think our guys on the front of the press Kaden (Kos), Hudson (Ehrenfelt), Bryce (Henry), Kale (Miller), everyone that stepped in did a job and played really well. We’re a pretty good football team out on the basketball court, we have a lot strong athletic guys that can be strong with the ball and wall-off the contact and play through it that’s big. My job is easy. We have a lot of shooters. We have a lot of playmakers. I can drive gaps and kick to anyone who steps out to the three point liner and they will make a play, and our post guys do such a great job of always being ready for the ball.”
The Hawks won the glass by 10, turnovers 10-6, and had seven total players score, led by 25 points from Henry, including four threes. Weber got to double figures with 10. Harris led West Branch with 22 points. Mid-Prairie remains unbeaten at 4-0, 2-0 in conference as the Bears drop to 1-4. The Mid-Prairie boys and girls are back on the court at home Tuesday when they host Wilton.