Mustang girls rout North Polk

MONROE — Playing winless South Hamilton in the first game back from break can be a good thing and a bad thing.

The lack of competition allowed the Prairie City-Monroe girls basketball team to get its feet under them after a long break, but it also didn’t get the Mustangs prepared to face the stiffer challenges in the Heart of Iowa Conference.

The Mustangs got one of those stiffer challenges Friday night, and the difference in competition likely led to a slow start during a 51-31 victory over North Polk.

Once PCM got things going though, the Mustangs cruised to another victory.

Leading 8-4 after one quarter, PCM more than doubled its output in the second frame, and the Mustangs never looked back in the 20-point home win during HOIC play.

North Polk was within one at 5-4 midway through the first quarter, but PCM blasted the Comets with a 22-6 run and led 27-10 at halftime. The lead never fell below 17 in the second half as the Mustangs grabbed a firm grip on second place in the conference standings.

“It was just a matter of playing a good team and finally getting to do what we worked on over the break,” PCM coach Jeff Lindsay said of overcoming the slow start. “We weren’t challenged on Tuesday. North Polk is good. They are big, athletic and they get out of the ball.

“We controlled our nervous energy. We backed it down a little bit and played with a lot more poise. We were able to make the right passes to get open shots.”

Senior Katie Vande Wall scored six of the Mustangs’ eight first-quarter points.

In the second quarter, freshman Regan Freland connected on a runner in the lane and then drilled a 3-pointer to put the Mustangs up 13-5.

Freland and senior Kayla Jennings each scored seven points in the second, and PCM was off and running.

“I thought they were getting tired to be honest,” Lindsay said. “We were able to sustain enough of our energy to keep the lead. We got after it and wore them down. The girls did a great job tonight.”

With sophomores Camryn Wignall and Avery Stock likely lost for the season due to knee injuries, Lindsay’s rotation now goes just seven deep. The thin bench forces the veteran coach to be smarter with timeouts and substitutions.

For the most part, the Mustangs had no issues with stamina Friday. PCM scored the first seven points — four by senior Kaylee Townsend — of the third quarter to push the lead to 24 points. The Mustangs outscored the Comets 13-7 in the third and led by 23 after three quarters.

North Polk’s Rachel Scott hit three 3-pointers in the fourth to keep North Polk within 20. All but four of PCM’s 11 points were scored from the free-throw line, and the Mustangs hit enough freebies to close out the win.

PCM hit 16-of-28 from the line in the win, but Lindsay is not concerned because he has seen his team make them before.

“The good news is we weren’t short,” Lindsay said. “The shots looked good. We just missed them tonight.”

Jennings and Freland each scored 13 points to lead the Mustangs. Jennings added five rebounds, four assists and three steals, while Freland chipped in three steals.

Vande Wall collected nine points, eight rebounds and three steals, while senior Lexi Timmins added six points, nine rebounds and two steals off the bench. Townsend scored seven points and grabbed five boards, while senior Rachel Stafford also had five rebounds.

Scott scored 10 of her team-high 11 points in the fourth quarter, but it was too little, too late for the Comets, who fell to 7-4 overall and 5-2 in the HOIC.

PCM (8-2) broke the tie with the Comets in the conference standings after the win. The Mustangs are now in sole possession of second place in the HOIC at 7-1.

PCM travels to Greene County for the opener of a HOIC varsity doubleheader at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

North Polk 4-8-7-14 — 31

PCM 8-19-13-11 — 51

North Polk (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP) — Gill 2-0-3-4, Ley 1-2-3-4, Katie Scott 1/1-1-1-4, Becker 0-0-3-0, Hill 1-0-4-1, Rachel Scott 4/3-0-2-11, Riley Murphy 0-0-1-0, Bruggeman 0-0-1-0, Brown 0-1-0-1, Paine 1-0-0-2, Steffen 0-0-2-0, Jaedon Murphy 2-0-2-4. Totals 11/4-5-22-31.

PCM (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP) — Freland 5/2-1-0-13, Vande Wall 3-3-3-9, Stafford 0-2-3-4, Jennings 5/1-2-0-13, Townsend 2-3-2-7, Timmins 1-4-2-6, Brodersen 0-1-4-1. Totals 16/3-16-14-51.