Storm Lake St. Mary’s traveled to Manson to take on the Cougars last night, where both teams fell…but not with a fight!
The Panther Girls scored the first points of the game with a Neely Bacon three, but there were only a total of 11 points scored between the two squads. The score at the end of the first quarter was 6-5, in large part of many turnovers to open up the game. In fact, St. Mary’s racked up 17 turnovers in the first half.
The second quarter saw Manson outscore St. Mary’s by nine to take an 21-11 lead into the break. However, the Panthers came out swining in the third quarter to trim the deficit to five. They even manage to cut it to one early in the fourth quarter, but the Cougars were able to make enough plays down the stretch to secure a 40-31 victory.
Manson was led by Chloe Peterson, who finished with 14 points. Also, Olivia Sturgis (the team’s leading scorer) had double figures with 12 points, and Sophomore Alyssa Richman totaled eight, which were all transition buckets. As for St. Mary’s, it was Sydney Hurd’s 12 that powered the way. Helping her out was Bacon with nine (all three pointers) and Natalie Green finished with eight.
Manson NW Webster now improves to 9-4 overall (5-1 in Twin Lakes Conference). Storm Lake St. Mary’s falls to 2-9 overall (2-5 in TLC).
Next games up for both teams. The Cougars will be on the road at Cherokee on Monday and the Panthers will host GTRA on Tuesday.
For the Boys, it was a much faster start for both teams. The Panthers and Cougars were matching basket for basket in the opening minutes with an early 8-8 tie. From there, Manson went on a 16-7 run to lead 24-15 at the end of the first quarter.
The difference was definitely the second quarter for Cougars, outscoring the Panthers 25-4 to expand out to a 49-19 lead at the halftime break. Logan Moline had the same amount of points as his teammate and leading scorer Kelan Koval with 13.
Koval did not stay quiet for long as he erupted for nine consecutive points in the third (all threes) where he was on another level. Manson’s bench played much of the fourth quarter and they were able to pick up a 80-35 win. Koval ended with 28, Moline (18) and Senior Colby Essing also chipped in with 11.
On the other side, Sr. Bennett Smith got 19 points and had to battle through tough defense all night long. Other scorers for St. Mary’s include John Heitman and Lane Carlson, who had six a piece, as well as Jesus Melendez (2) and Aidan Cavazos (2).
Similiar to the Girls, Manson NW Webster’s Boys improve to 9-4 overall (5-2 in TLC) while Storm Lake St. Mary’s fall to 0-12 overall (0-7 in TLC).
The Cougars Boys will battle Cherokee on Monday, while the Panther Boys will seeking their first win on Tuesday, hosting GTRA.
