Wildcats take two of first three

Girls basketball

     Maquoketa Valley opened the new girls basketball season by winning two of its first three games.

     The Wildcats started the season with a strong performance in a 63-44 home win over East Buchanan Nov. 21 in Delhi.

     It was a big night for two of the MV players: Sam Wall scored 21 points and had three assists and three steals, and Payton Ries had a double-double with 20 points, 14 rebounds and three steals. Gracie Gellersen added eight points.

     The Wildcats outscored the Buccaneers 23-10 in the first quarter, and led throughout.

     “I was happy with the way we got out of the gates in this game, but we need to do a better job of consistently playing at a high level,” Maquoketa Valley coach Scot Moenck said.

     MV then got the opportunity to play in Rivalry Saturday against MFL MarMac at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, and won 50-37. Ries had 17 points, seven rebounds and four steals. Wall had 15 points. Abby Holtz had five rebounds and two assists, and Ella Imler made two assists as well.

     “This was a neat experience for our kids,” Moenck said. “I was very pleased with our intensity from all 17 kids. We got a lot out of our press and we really rebounded the ball well.

     “This was by far Payton Ries’ best game of her high school career. Not just because she scored a lot of points, but because she did so many other things that helped our team win.”

     The Wildcats then traveled to Springville Nov. 28 to face the defending state Class 1A champion Orioles, who are ranked first in the state. MV and Springville played to a 28-28 tie in the first half, and the Wildcats trailed by just five heading into the fourth quarter, but Springville won 57-49.

     Wall had 19 points to pace MV. Gellersen shot 5-for-9 from three-point range and scored 18 points. Macy Hoeger had seven steals. Imler made three assists.

Boys basketball

     Maquoketa Valley outscored Springville 36-16 in the second half on the way to a season-opening 64-43 boys basketball victory Tuesday, Nov. 28 at Springville.

     The Wildcats (1-1) led by just one point at halftime, 28-27, before breaking the game open in the second half. Trevor Elgin scored 17 points, shooting 7-for-14 from the field including 3-for-4 from three-point range. Tyson Tucker shot 6-for-11 and finished with 15 points and seven rebounds. Heath Gibbs had 10 rebounds, while Brock Hillers had nine assists and five steals.

     On Dec. 1, the Wildcats played host to Edgewood-Colesburg, and lost 63-47. Ed-Co jumped to a 32-19 lead by halftime. For MV, Tucker had 13 points, while Garrett Hogan and Andrew Holtz had seven apiece. Tucker also had six rebounds, and Hillers had five. Hogan made five steals. Brian Heims had five points and four rebounds. Gibbs blocked two  shots.

Wrestling

     Maquoketa Valley crammed eight dual meets into two days to get its wrestling season under way last week. The Wildcats came out of the meets with a 5-3 record.

     The Wildcats opened with a quadrangular meet at Midland, and won two of its three duals. MV defeated Central City 60-15, lost to East Buchanan 39-36, and scored a 54-30 win over Midland.

     Posting 3-0 records at Midland were Parker Sternhagen at 126 pounds, with three pins; Robert Hildebrand at 152, and Mitch Smith at 182. Going 2-0 were Chance Kemp at 120 and Dylan Happel at 195.

     On Dec. 1, the Wildcats won three out of five matches at the Cascade duals. MV defeated Bellevue 45-30, Clayton Ridge 60-15, and Edgewood-Colesburg 48-30; and lost to MFL MarMac 42-32, and Washington 66-17.

     Chance Downs and Sternhagen both went 5-0 for the day. Cole Kruse was 4-0, while Robert Hildebrand and Michael Feldmann both were 4-1.