July 03, 2025

Baxter girls' win streak continues

By Jasper County

Baxter sophomore Lilie Vansice (20) goes in for two against North Tama earlier this season. The Bolts have won five games in a row and are now 12-5 overall. (Troy Hyde)

MESKWAKI SETTLEMENT — Caitlyn Bruntz set a new scoring record, the Bolts had 18 steals and Baxter’s girls’ basketball team blew out Meskwaki Settlement School 65-43 on Jan. 27 during Iowa Star Conference South Division play.

The doubleheader was made up after being postponed on Jan. 24 due to weather.

The Bolts’ win was the first victory over the Warriors (10-4 overall, 6-3 in conference play) since they joined the Iowa Star Conference three seasons ago.

Baxter (12-5, 7-2) trailed by four after one but outscored the Warriors 18-4 in the second. The Bolts won the second half 35-23.

Bruntz buried five 3-pointers and scored a school-record 27 points. She also had seven steals and five assists.

McKenzie Eslinger added 11 points, 14 rebounds and four steals and Lilie Vansice tallied 15 points, six rebounds and three assists. Sophie Meyer finished with six points, four rebounds and three assists.

Holly Jessen chipped in four points and four rebounds and Sadie Meyer delivered three assists.

Baxter was 25-of-61 from the floor and hit 7-of-24 from 3-point range.

Baxter played at Collins-Maxwell on Feb. 4. The Bolts host Colo-NESCO at 6 p.m. on Feb. 7 and make up their home game with Collins-Maxwell at 6 p.m. on Feb. 8 in Baxter.

Baxter 63, Valley Lutheran 8

BAXTER — Thirteen different players scored, Maddie Pierce had a career night and Baxter blitzed Valley Lutheran 63-8 during Iowa Star Conference South Division play on Jan. 28.

Pierce had a career-high 16 points and eight steals in the win.

The Bolts led 16-0 after one and went up 37-4 at halftime. Valley Lutheran (0-11, 0-8) scored four points in the second half.

Eslinger had eight points and eight rebounds, Sadie Meyer tallied six points and five boards and Jessen and Mandee Selover each scored five points.

Merrin Ziesman added four points and five rebounds, Vansice tallied three points and six boards and Bruntz finished with three points, four assists and four steals.

Brooke Bacon and Bree Buswell each scored four points. The Bolts finished with 21 steals.

Baxter 60, Don Bosco 11

GILBERTVILLE — Baxter led 20-0 after one quarter and outscored Don Bosco 24-3 in the second half during a 60-11 road victory on Jan. 31.

Ten different Bolts scored in the game as Baxter won its fifth straight game during the Iowa Star Conference cross-division game.

Eslinger led the way for Baxter with 14 points and nine rebounds. Ziesman added a career-high 10 points with five steals, four rebounds and three assists. Bruntz tallied eight points, three assists and four steals, Sadie Meyer chipped in seven points and three rebounds and Vansice added eight points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Jessen had four points and three rebounds and Pierce tallied three points, two assists and two steals, Allyson Padget scored three points and Sophie Meyer chipped four rebounds and four assists. Bacon grabbed four boards.

The Bolts were 21-of-53 from the floor and 2-of-14 from 3-point range. Baxter had its best performance of the season from the free-throw line, making 16-of-20.

Don Bosco (1-14) lost its fifth straight game.