Indianola Basketball Sweeps Newton
The Indianola girls and boys basketball squads earned double-digit wins over Newton Tuesday evening, the girls winning 64-51 and the boys 67-27 in a doubleheader heard live on 94.3 KNIA.
The Indians boys got off to a slow start trailing 6-2 early on in the first quarter, but would then go on a 15-2 run to the end the first quarter with a 17-8 lead, then battled through a slow-paced second quarter with a 33-17 halftime lead. Coming out of the halftime break, Indianola picked up the defensive pressure and would catch fire from beyond the arc, hitting five three-point buckets and holding the Cardinals to just four points to get to running clock. Drew Kingery led the way with 18 points, Cooper Nailor had 15 on five three-pointers, and Caden Rehmeier had 7 points and 12 rebounds.
The #15 in class 5A Indians girls contest also had a game-defining run in the first half, with the Indians going scoreless for the first four minutes of the game, and would trail 10-4 with only three minutes left in the first quarter. From then on, the Indians went on a 34-6 run stretching all the way to halftime for a 38-16 lead at the break. Indians head coach Jeff Janssen tells KNIA Sports it wasn’t the Indians best performance of the season, but they made the correct plays during their massive run.
“We controlled the tempo and played with pace. We got rebounds and pushed the basketball, and didn’t settle for the first three pointers but instead getting the ball to the hoop. Thats what we tried to talk about at halftime to continue to do. But credit Newton and their style, and a well-coached team that played hard and gave us fits all night long.”
The Cardinals battled throughout the second half, but would not get the score closer than 13. Lauren Blake had 24 points to lead the Indians.
The boys are now 13-6 on the season and 8-5 in conference play, while the girls are 16-4 and 11-2, but remain a half-game back of conference leader Dallas Center-Grimes. Both teams will next play Friday at Norwalk.
Indianola Wrestling Travels to Fort Dodge for Regional Dual
The Indianola wrestling team attempts to make their second straight trip to the State Dual Tournament beginning tonight, making their way up to Fort Dodge. The #13 seeded Indians will first take on #21 LeMars, then will take on the rival #4 Dodgers for the opportunity to wrestle as a squad at Wells Fargo Arena for the second straight season. Action starts tonight at 6pm.