Wildcats take four of five

Girls basketball

     Sam Wall scored 29 points as MV scored a 66-27 home win over Alburnett Dec. 12. Wall shot 10-for-15 from the field, including 4-for-6 from three-point range, and had five rebounds and five steals. Maddy Anderegg scored eight points, while Maci Freiburger and Gracie Gellersen had six points each. Ella Imler had three assists and three steals.

     “I was very happy with the way we came out and were aggressive on both ends of the floor in this game,” Maquoketa Valley coach Scot Moenck said. “We had a lot of different girls that scored in this game, which is very nice to see.”

     The Wildcats then battled top-ranked North Linn Dec. 15 in Delhi, and lost 59-30. A 16-2 first quarter for the Lynx proved too much for the ‘Cats to overcome. Emerson Whittenbaugh led MV with 11 points and six rebounds. Wall scored eight points. Macy Hoeger had six rebounds, and Freiburger had five.

     “Against good teams like North Linn, we cannot afford to come out like we did,” Moenck said. “We have to be mentally and physically ready to go before the game, and that’s all on me as their head coach. We kind of let North Linn bully us around, and we’re way better than that.”

     Maquoketa Valley bounced back with a 56-27 home win over Midland Dec. 16. The Wildcats took a 35-11 lead by halftime. Wall scored 25 points in that one, and contributed five steals. Payton Ries and Lydia Helle each had six points. Anderegg had three assists and three steals. Hoeger had six rebounds, while Anderegg, Freiburger, Whittenbaugh and Helle each grabbed five.

     “This team did a good job of not letting one loss beat us twice,” the coach said. “I was very happy to see them bounce back the way they did.”

     On Dec. 18, the Wildcats played host to Central Elkader in a non-conference game, and won 66-19. MV led 35-19 at halftime, and then outscored the Warriors 31-0 in the second half. Wall scored 21 points, Whittenbaugh had 11, and Gellersen added eight. Freiburger had seven rebounds. Ries made five steals.

     Maquoketa Valley also played host to Easton Valley Dec. 19, and won by a score of 67-41. Individual statistics were not available at press time.

Boys basketball

     Two Tri-Rivers Conference opponents defeated Maquoketa Valley in boys basketball action last week.      

     On Dec. 18, the Wildcats played host to Central Elkader, and lost 59-38, as Central outscored MV in each of the four quarters. Tyson Tucker had a double-double for the ‘Cats, with 14 points and 10 rebounds, along with four steals. Heath Gibbs scored eight points, and Trevor Elgin added seven. Getting two assists apiece were Andrew Holtz, Brenden Hogan, Tucker and Gibbs. Garrett Hogan had three steals.

     Next, the Wildcats were handed a 71-50 defeat by Easton Valley Dec. 19 in Delhi. MV was outscored 38-14 in the second half. Tucker led the Wildcats with 23 points and eight rebounds, along with four assists. Holtz had 12 points, five assists and three steals. Gibbs scored seven points, and Elgin had six.