With the winter sports season gaining traction, the first doubleheader for Pleasantville and Melcher-Dallas tips off tonight at Melcher-Dallas High School. The boys’ teams will be taking the court for the first time this season, whereas the girls’ season has already gotten underway.
Pleasantville’s girls’ basketball team will be looking to break their two-game losing streak, after dropping to Lynnville-Sully and Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont. Despite the Trojans’ struggles, Breanna Benge and Adi Adreon both are averaging eight points per game through the first three games. One player to keep an eye on is Malorie McKinney, who has been battling an ankle injury to start the season. Despite the injury, she is leading the team in rebounding averaging 8.3 boards per game while coming off the bench.
Melcher-Dallas’ girls’ basketball team will be looking for their first win of the season after losing to Wayne last Tuesday at home. The Saints are led by Senior Kynser Reed, who had 11 points and ten rebounds in the loss. Coach Kelsey Goff tells KNIA Sports that she was impressed with the team’s offensive rebounding, yet cites that free-throw shooting is clearly an area they need to improve, as they shot just 10% from the line last week. Goff also states that Haley Godfrey is expected to be the second scoring option behind Reed for the season.
Pleasantville’s girls have won the last seven matchups with Melcher-Dallas, including a 52-23 romp in December 2019. In the second half of that game, the Trojans outscored the Saints 33-6. The last time Melcher-Dallas beat Pleasantville was in November 2012, when they squeezed away with a 50-47 victory.
As for Pleasantville’s boys’ basketball team, they will look to get back to their consistent winning ways after finishing .500 or worse over the last two winters. With their two top scorers from 2019-20 graduated, the Trojans will look to Mason Scheve as the primary option for the team. Scheve averaged 11.8 points per game while shooting 46% from the field and 43% from 3-point range. Also, look for Caylor Clark to have an increased role. Pleasantville Coach Tom Wilkins tells KNIA Sports that there are four potential players to fill the final spots in the starting five, including Jack Perkins and Austin McMillin.
Melcher-Dallas’ boys’ basketball team will be looking to break away from the .500 plateau and take a step forward with their top three scorers returning from last winter. One of them is Knoxville transfer Lane VanderLinden, who appeared in just ten games for the Saints last year, but averaged 13 points and seven boards per game. With him as a potential full-time starter this season, the Saints will have a concrete third scoring option alongside Steven and Ryan Krpan. Head Coach Jim Wells tells KNIA Sports that he expects Owen Suntken and Gabe Enfield to fill the vacant starting spots along with the Krpan twins and VanderLinden.
Like the girls, Pleasantville’s boys have won the last seven matchups with Melcher-Dallas, including a 73-24 domination in December 2019. The Saints have yet to beat the Trojans over the last 15 years, so they will come in looking to break the losing skid.
The doubleheader will be broadcast on kniakrls.com, on the KNIA3 stream. The girls’ teams will tip-off at 6 P.M. Alex Koch will have the call.