Wildcats score a win at Coe

     It wasn’t the biggest stage, but it was a larger one than most high school girls’ basketball teams are used to.

     The Maquoketa Valley High School girls’ basketball team got the opportunity to play at Coe College during Rivalry Saturday, Nov. 24 in Cedar Rapids.

     The Wildcats (2-0) handled the opportunity well, scoring a 48-28 victory over Sumner-Fredericksburg. MV jumped out to leads of 18-8 at the end of the first quarter and 31-14 at halftime.

     “This was a very good opportunity for our kids to play in front of a bigger crowd in a bigger arena,” Maquoketa Valley coach Scot Moenck said. “Sumner-Fredericksburg is a big and physical team that does such a good job of getting the ball inside. I really felt we handled that better than we did last year.”

     Sam Wall led the Wildcats in scoring with 12 points, and Emerson Whittenbaugh added 11. Ella Imler had nine points, and Maci Freiburger scored seven.

     Imler also had eight steals and four assists to lead the team in both departments. Whittenbaugh had six rebounds, and Freiburger had five.

     Earlier, the Wildcats opened their season with a 54-19 rout of Edgewood-Colesburg Nov. 20 in Delhi. Wall scored 16 points, while Whittenbaugh added seven, Freiburger had six, while Taya Tucker and Brooke Elgin each scored five. Freiburger had seven rebounds, and Elgin grabbed six. Maddy Anderegg made five steals. Imler had six assists.

     “I think our kids were tired of practicing and were ready to play a game,” Moenck said. “We really moved the ball well offensively, but missed too many point-blank shots. I was very happy with our defensive intensity.”