April 26, 2024

Mustang girls lock down rival Eagles

By Troy Hyde

Prairie City-Monroe senior Katie Vande Wall (22) pulls down a rebound in front of teammate Kayla Jennings during the Mustangs’ win over Saydel on Friday. Vande Wall had a team-high 10 boards in the game. (Troy Hyde)

MONROE — Kayla Jennings came into Friday’s game with a little apprehension. Her shot was off in the Mustangs’ win over Roland-Story a few days before, and the shots continued to be off target in warmups.

But when the game began, Jennings simply couldn’t miss.

Jennings scored 13 of her team-high 16 points in the first quarter, and the Class 3A No. 13 Mustangs’ defense took care of the rest during a 68-15 win over Saydel in Heart of Iowa Conference play.

“The shots fell tonight. I was a little worried coming in though,” Jennings said. “I just didn’t play very well against Roland-Story.”

PCM scored the game’s first 19 points of the game, led 26-5 after one quarter and held the Eagles to single digits in each of the four quarters.

“I was glad we didn’t let up tonight,” PCM coach Jeff Lindsay said. “We needed to keep playing. Our game is to go. That’s not trying to be disrespectful. We just still have room to grow, too.”

Jennings’ first bucket came inside the lane. The rest of her 11 points in the period came from outside as her jump shot was on target. She added six steals to her 16-point effort.

Senior Lexi Timmins scored the first five points of the second quarter and scored a career-high 10 points in the game.

Kaylee Townsend’s putback late in the second quarter put the Mustangs up 41-9 at the break. She also put back a miss at the end of the third quarter, and PCM held Saydel scoreless in the frame.

“It was a good balanced effort,” Lindsay said. “We should be able to go to Kaylee inside in a game like this. She has plenty of experience and she should be able to do that.

“I am hoping this effort gets some of the girls some confidence and can get a jump start moving forward.”

Scoring six points in the first and six more in the third, Townsend scored a season-high 14 points in the game.

Senior Katie Vande Wall added 10 rebounds, freshman Regan Freland chipped in nine points, six assists and four steals and senior Rachel Stafford tallied five points, seven assists and four rebounds.

“We can count on a lot of players on this team,” Jennings said. “That’s what makes us this team great. We have plenty of depth.”

At 4-0 overall, PCM enters the week with an average margin of victory at 36.5.

The Mustangs’ toughest test to date comes on the road at 6 p.m. Monday against 2A No. 9 Pella Christian.