×

Warriors closed off by No. 7 Collins-Maxwell

T-R PHOTO BY NOAH ROHLFING - Meskwaki senior guard Deandra Navarro, top, shoots over a cast of Collins-Maxwell defenders, including Erica Houge (23), during the second half of Tuesday’s basketball game.

MESKWAKI SETTLEMENT — The first quarter of Tuesday night’s game between the Meskwaki girls’ basketball team and the Class 1A No. 7 Collins-Maxwell Spartans was more than enough for Meskwaki head coach Emmett Whalen to know what he was up against.

The Warriors were blanked 14-0 in the first eight minutes of action and never were able to make up the gap, losing 66-30 and falling to 4-10 on the season — 2-6 in the Iowa Star South.

The Spartans (12-0, 9-0) jumped out and put Meskwaki in a tough spot thanks to a three-quarter court press that caused the Warriors problems offensively. The Warriors scored just 11 points in the first half, nine points from Deandra Navarro. The senior guard missed the first quarter but led the team with 20 points.

Whalen said that Navarro provided a spark and showed why she’s been so important to the offense.

“She can score on anybody, she can make shots,” Whalen said. “She can square people up and if you’re up on her she can drive by you, if you sit back she can hit shots over you.”

T-R PHOTO BY NOAH ROHLFING - Meskwaki junior Summer Youngbear, left, looks for an angle to shoot against Collins-Maxwell’s Reagan Franzen (35) during the second half of Tuesday’s game at Meskwaki Settlement School.

Up 35-11 in the first half, Collins-Maxwell extended the lead to 51-22 after the third quarter. Led by the game-high 23 points from Reagan Franzen, the Spartans consistently scored via second-chance points. The height advantage is something the Warriors have dealt with all year long, and Whalen said he wasn’t surprised that it turned out to be a big issue in the game.

But more than that, Whalen said the Warriors’ opponents played like the team he wants to coach his youthful Warriors outfit into over the next couple of seasons.

“That’s the goal, you know?” Whalen said. “Just to be a team where you come in and it’s gonna take the other team’s best effort to beat you and you play disciplined basketball. You can just tell the way they do things, they go hard during warmups and play the game the right way. I think that’s what we’re trying to do to take the girls’ program to the next level.”

Meskwaki has been up-and-down since the winter break, now 3-4 since the Christmas stoppage but with all four losses coming in the last five games.

Up next for the Warriors is a trip to Colo to play Colo-NESCO Friday night.

Collins-Maxwell 66, Meskwaki 30

COLLINS-MAXWELL (15-0, 9-0) — Alexis Houge 8 2-3 19, Kenzi Wierson 2 0-0 4, Brooke Christie 1 0-0 3, Erica Houge 5 1-1 11, Reagan Franzen 8 2-2 23, Jane’e Jones 0 0-0 0, Marissa Boege 0 0-0 0, Chloe Wierson 0 0-0 0, Mary Staudt 1 0-0 2, Emma Pasquariello 0 0-0 0, Elise Robertson 2 0-0 4, Isabelle Hill 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 27 5-6 66.

MESKWAKI (4-10, 2-6) — Shye Johnson 0 0-0 0, Geanna Bear 2 0-1 4, Sia Bear 1 0-0 2, Kalayna White 1 0-0 2, Summer Youngbear 1 0-2 2, Deandra Navarro 6 4-5 20, Irene Keahna 0 0-0 0, Sitara Xiavong 0 0-0 0, Genesis Ramirez 0 0-0 0, Sophie Balderas 0 0-0 0, Nina Seymour 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 11 4-8 30.

C-M 14 21 16 15 — 66

MESKWAKI 0 11 11 8 — 30

3-Point Goals–C-M 7 (Franzen 5, A. Houge, Christie), Meskwaki 4 (Navarro 4). Team Fouls–C-M 10, Meskwaki 9. Fouled out–none.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.38/week.

Subscribe Today