Van Ryswyk leads Baxter girls to win over Thunder

ANKENY — Senior Kaylin Van Ryswyk had a career night for Baxter’s girls’ basketball team on Jan. 3.

Van Ryswyk led the Bolts to their second win of the season with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Baxter downed Grand View Christian 44-26 at Faith Baptist Bible College.

The Bolts (2-8) jumped out to a 16-6 lead and didn’t trail the rest of the way. Baxter outscored the Thunder (1-10) by eight in the final three quarters.

Junior Sadie Meyer tallied nine points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals for the Bolts, while sophomore McKenzie Eslinger chipped in five points, 10 rebounds and two assists.

The Bolts had 51 rebounds in the game.

Freshman Lilie Vansice had five boards, senior Sydney Schmidt and sophomore Sophie Meyer each had four boards and senior Brenna Thomson and junior Caitlyn Bruntz both had three rebounds.

Thomson added three assists and three steals, Bruntz had five steals and Schmidt had two assists and two steals.

Baxter played at Saydel on Jan. 7 and hosted GMG on Jan. 8. The Bolts’ next game is against Morman Trail at 4 p.m. on Jan. 12 in Baxter.

Clarksville 50, Baxter 28

BAXTER — Baxter’s girls’ basketball team hung around with Class 1A No. 8 Clarksville on Jan. 4, but the Indians pulled away with a big third quarter.

Clarksville led by 10 at halftime but outscored the Bolts 21-4 in the third and won 50-28 during an Iowa Star Conference cross-division game.

The Bolts scored single digits in all four quarters, scoring seven in the first, eight in the second, four in the third and nine in the fourth.

“We have to get shots up, but we didn’t shoot the ball well tonight either,” Baxter coach Eric Padget said. “A lot of that was their defense. They have length and they pressure you. That makes you panic and makes you not focus on your form when you shoot it.”

Van Ryswyk led the Bolts with eight points and 14 rebounds, but Baxter made 9-of-38 from the floor and only 3-of-19 from 3-point range.

Eslinger scored five points, junior Holly Jessen grabbed five rebounds and tallied two steals and Sophie Meyer had five points and three boards.

The Bolts trailed 10-7 after one quarter.

A three-point play by Van Ryswyk gave the Bolts a 5-4 lead and a jumper by Vansice kept Baxter within 8-7 until Janet Borchardt scored to push the Indians’ lead to three.

Borchardt led Clarksville with 16 points in the win.

Clarksville (10-1) scored the first five points of the second quarter, including a 3-pointer by Kori Wedeking.

That trey put the Indians up 15-7, and Wedeking scored 15 points in the game. She came into the game averaging 19 points, eight steals, five assists and five rebounds per game. Wedeking had a bunch more steals against the Bolts.

“She’s one of the best if not the best player in the conference,” Padget said. “Her length gave us some problems. They mixed up defenses and kept us off balance.”

The lead grew to 10 points later in the half when Cheyenne Behrends hit a runner in the lane. Van Ryswyk and Eslinger later both scored inside to keep the game within single digits, but a Borchardt bucket inside made it 25-15 at the half.

Eslinger hit a free throw and Sophie Meyer drilled a 3-pointer in the third, but it was the only points in the frame for the Bolts. The Indians led 46-19 after three quarters.

Baxter outscored Clarksville 9-4 in the fourth. Thomson and sophomore Brooke Bacon both hit 3-pointers, Sophie Meyer buried two free throws and Van Ryswyk also made a shot from the line.

But it was too little, too late for the Bolts. Baxter came into the game winners of two of its last three games.

“We are doing a much better job with our zone offense,” Padget said. “The ball movement is great. And they are doing a good job of finding Kaylin inside. She then finds open shooters or takes it herself.”

The Indians have now won nine straight games.