Mensen's awards are part of Wildcats' big week


Brianna Mensen of Maquoketa Valley (22) is honored by head coach Scot Moenck after Mensen scored her 1,000th career point. Later in the week, Mensen was voted KCRG-TV9 Athlete of the Week. (Photo courtesy of Lesa Parmely, Maquoketa Valley)

Lydia Helle of Maquoketa Valley drives to the hoop Jan. 26 at Monticello. (Photo by Pete Temple)

Tyson Tucker makes his move for Maquoketa Valley in the Jan. 26 game at Monticello. (Photo by Pete Temple)
MAQUOKETA VALLEY RECAP

Girls basketball

     Brianna Mensen had a big week for the Maquoketa Valley Wildcats. She scored 25 points in a big home win against Springville Jan. 23, surpassing the 1,000-point scoring mark for her career.

     Later in the week, she learned she was the KCRG-TV9 Athlete of the Week.

     “The thing that makes her the most special is that she can play all five positions, and she does them very well,” MV coach Scot Moenck told KCRG. “We can post her up, and she can shoot threes and handle the basketball.”

     The Wildcats (7-2, 16-3) rolled up four victories last week, starting with the Springville win, 48-38, avenging an earlier loss.

     “I was very pleased with how our kids started the game mentally,” Moenck said. “They were all dialed in.”

     At home against Lisbon Jan. 24, MV won 73-30. Mensen scored 17 points, while teammates Sam Wall and Payton Ries had 13 points apiece.

     On Jan. 26, the Wildcats traveled to Monticello and pulled out a 44-42 win, with Mensen scoring eight of her 19 points in the fourth quarter.

     “This was a very good game for us, win or lose, just because you want these kind of games this time of year,” the coach said. “We got into early foul trouble. However, our bench kids came in and did an outstanding job.”

     Mensen had 19 points and Wall added 11.

     MV closed the week with a 66-22 win at East Buchanan Jan. 27. Mensen scored 27 points, Wall had 14 and Gracie Gellersen added 10.

     Earlier, the Wildcats scored a 66-28 home win over Calamus-Wheatland Jan. 20. Mensen led the way with 21 points, shooting 8-for-10 from the field. She also made three steals. Wall had 17 points and five assists. Payton Ries added 11 points. Gellersen had seven points and four assists.

 

Wrestling

     Alec McDowell earned his second conference championship as Maquoketa Valley competed in the Tri-Rivers Conference Wrestling Tournament Saturday, Jan. 28 at North Linn.

     McDowell, 41-2, pinned Heath Weber of East Buchanan 35 seconds into the 182-pound title match to earn the crown.

     As a team, the Wildcats finished fifth with 126 points. Lisbon won the tournament with 242, North Linn was second with 144, Alburnett third with 136 and East Buchanan fourth with 131.

     “One thing I cannot fault the guys for is their effort,” Maquoketa Valley coach Tim Andrews said. “The good thing is that this did not happen at sectionals, and we have a week to regroup and get back to the practice room to try and right the ship.”

     Eric Heims finished second at 220 pounds. Third place finishers included Robert Hildebrand at 138, Chance Downs at 145 and Cole Kruse at 195.

     Finishing fourth were Canyon Richardson at 106, Trent Koopmann at 132 and Mitch Smith at 160.

     In fifth were Chad Neuzeil at 120, Zach Cornell at 152, Isaac Kramer at 170 and Mason Kruse at 285.

 

Boys basketball

     Two overtime victories were the highlights of a four-game week for the Maquoketa Valley boys basketball team.

     The Wildcats (5-4, 7-10) pulled out a 62-61 home win over Springville, in overtime, on Jan. 23. Garrett Hogan scored 20 points, shooting 7-for-11 from the field and 6-for-8 from the free throw line. Brock Hillers had 13 points, and Tyson Tucker had 12 points and seven rebounds. Hogan had five steals, and Tucker had four.

     MV mounted a big rally in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Orioles 25-14 in the final period to force overtime with a 53-53 tie.

     On Feb. 24, MV lost a 58-42 decision to Lisbon, also in Delhi. Jake Bonert had 18 points and five steals. Trevor Elgin had eight rebounds.

     At Monticello Jan. 26, the Wildcats fell behind 23-3 by the end of the first quarter and lost 57-23 (see scoring on p. B-1).

     The Wildcats bounced back to score a 53-42 overtime win at East Buchanan Jan. 27 in Winthrop. Hillers scored 20 points and made four steals in the game. Kyle Wilson had 11 points and seven rebounds. Bonert had nine rebounds.

 

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