MONTEZUMA — Lynnville-Sully’s basketball teams are both ranked in Class 1A. The Hawk girls climbed back into the rankings at No. 15 while the Hawk boys are sitting at No. 6.
Lynnville-Sully’s girls and boys were on the road in South Iowa Cedar League play Tuesday. The girls’ contest pitted the 15th-ranked Hawks against the hosting ninth-ranked Montezuma Bravettes.
Montezuma used bookend surges in the first and fourth quarters to beat Lynnville-Sully, 58-36. The middle quarters were almost even.
“We battled better this game, we were close for three quarters but had too many defensive breakdowns,” Lynnville-Sully girls’ head coach Jerry Hulsing said. “We didn’t rebound well in the fourth quarter, and that pushed the lead for Monte.”
Following the girls’ tilt, the Hawk boys held off a much-improved Montezuma team to win 55-45. The Hawks beat the Braves, 73-43, in the season opener.
With the victory, Lynnville-Sully’s boys (11-2) remained undefeated in SICL play at 11-0.
“We struggled to get things rolling offensively, but the guys found other ways to get it done,” Lynnville-Sully boys’ head coach Nick Harthoorn said. “We fought hard defensively and on the boards. We did a good job taking care of the basketball and when they fouled us, the guys stepped up to the line and knocked them down.”
Montezuma’s girls opened the game with a 15-9 run in the first quarter. Lynnville-Sully steadied things as each team scored eight points in the second period.
Down 23-17 at the break, the Hawk girls stayed within striking distance. The Bravettes took a 39-31 lead into the fourth quarter.
“We stopped attacking the rim on offense so we stop scoring.” Hulsing said. “We did some nice things in the game early but need to figure out how to maintain it for four quarters against a good team.”
Montezuma outscored Lynnville-Sully’s girls 19-5 in the fourth period. The Bravettes hit seven 3-pointers in the contest as they finished the game shooting 45 percent, 22-of-48, overall. They were 7-of-13 at the free-throw line.
Lynnville-Sully shot 32 percent, 16-of-49, from the field. The Hawks went to the foul line five times, hitting two.
Lynnville-Sully was led by Carson Fisk with nine points, 10 rebounds and two assists. Mallory Loftus scored six points.
Camryn Russell and Shiloh Cunningham each scored five points. Krystal Van Dyke and Mariah Vos had four points piece and Jataya Meyer had three points.
Montezuma got 13 points from Shateah Wetering and 11 points from Elise Boulton, who had three treys. Wetering pulled down 11 rebounds.
The Lynnville-Sully girls are 10-4 overall and 7-4 in SICL play.
In the boys’ game, the Hawks were up 10-7 after one quarter. It was a 28-23 Lynnville-Sully lead at halftime.
The Braves outscored the Hawks 9-7 in the third quarter. Lynnville-Sully finished the job down the stretch with a 20-13 scoring edge in the final eight minutes.
Lynnville-Sully cashed in on 21-of-22 free throw attempts. It shot only 33 percent, 18-of-49, from the field.
Rylan James had a double-double to lead the Hawks with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Jesse Van Wyk added 12 points along with five assists and two steals.
Brevin Hansen had 10 points and Tyson Vander Linden scored eight. Tanner Foster tallied six, Drake Ehresman chipped in four and Corey McCoy added two. Foster also had two steals.
Trey Shearer paced the Braves with 15 points. They shot 28 percent, 15-of-53, from the field.
Lynnville-Sully’s teams host North Mahaska in a SICL doubleheader on Friday in Sully. The girls’ game tips off at 6 p.m. followed by the boys’ contest.
Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
641-792-3121 ext. 6535
or jsheets@newtondailynews.com