March 28, 2024

PCM girls end 3-0 week with easy win over Greene County

Lindsay’s double-double guides Mustangs to home win over Rams

MONROE — Having a freshman lead a Class 3A girls basketball team in points, rebounds, assists and steals is not very common.

But through 17 games, that is the case for PCM’s Tori Lindsay. And her double-double Friday led the Mustangs to a 39-17 home win over Greene County during Heart of Iowa Conference action.

“She’s a great kid, a great teammate and she plays hard,” PCM head girls basketball coach Sami Allison-Rodriguez said about Lindsay. “We are lucky to have her.”

The win over the Rams completed a perfect 3-0 week. It also drew the Mustangs to even in HOIC play at 5-5.

PCM overcame a tough shooting night to get the win. The Mustangs made only 24.6 percent of their shots from the floor but forced Greene County into 29 turnovers.

“We stayed locked in on defense. Every game this week was different, and things were tweaked based on who we played, but they were locked in,” Allison-Rodriguez said. “I know (Greene County) hasn’t been scoring a lot. Our goal was to keep them at four points a quarter. They got sixth in the fourth but had 11 coming in.”

PCM (8-9 overall, 5-5 in HOIC play) led 13-4 after the first quarter and outscored the Rams 13-3 in the second.

Greene County’s lone lead came when the Rams scored first in the contest. But, the Mustangs used a 26-2 run to put their visitors away for good.

Paige Steenhoek started the run with a free throw and a layup a few minutes into the game. She later buried a 3-pointer and Elle Davis scored all four of her points in the final minutes of the frame.

Lindsay opened the second with a 3, got three more on a 3-point play and reached double figures by halftime with another trey late in the frame.

“We are working really hard in practice and wanted to use this week to show everyone what we’ve been working on,” Lindsay said. “We had a lot more communication and ball movement tonight. We were able to get the ball up the floor quite a bit and the connections were there.”

PCM had an 8-4 advantage in the third and Addison Steenhoek scored five of those points. Paige Steenhoek made another trey, too, and the Mustangs led 34-11 after three.

Allison-Rodriguez used all of her bench throughout the game, often using hockey-style line changes.

Lindsay capped her scoring with a putback early in the fourth and Abi Teeter buried a 3 later in the frame.

With six seniors on the roster, Allison-Rodriguez wants to build depth in her roster and will do so when games get out of hand.

“We took the six seniors aside earlier this season and told the rest of the team that this was them next year,” Allison-Rodriguez said. “We need to develop some depth this year and get kids ready for next year.

“So when we can play several kids, we will. The things we need them to improve on need to happen now. All of those freshmen who we thought would come along are getting better every week and if we can get them varsity minutes, we absolutely will.”

PCM shot 24.6 percent from the floor, connected on 6-of-19 from 3-point range and hit 3-of-9 from the free-throw line. They committed only 15 turnovers.

Lindsay, Paige Steenhoek and Addison Steenhoek accounted for 29 of the team’s 39 points.

Lindsay posted a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double and added three assists and two steals.

The Mustang freshman takes pride in being more than just a scorer. Allison-Rodriguez sometimes wants Lindsay to be more aggressive.

“I couldn’t do it without my coaches and teammates,” Lindsay said. “The coaches tell me to be aggressive. I like being an aggressive defender and rebounder. I like to get in there and give us every chance we can to score.”

Paige Steenhoek added nine points, four rebounds and four steals and Addison Steenhoek had seven points, eight steals and two assists. Davis registered four points and two steals and Teeter put in three points.

Sophia Steenhoek grabbed five boards, dished out two assists and swiped two steals, Jorja Teeter pulled down four rebounds, Claire Van Wyk had three boards and Sidney Shaver corralled two rebounds.

“We shoot well in practice, but it’s not carrying over into the games,” Allison-Rodriguez said. “It’s just confidence. We are getting good looks. They just aren’t going right now. We keep saying shoot it until you get it though.

“We know we need to have more kids score than those three. I think we have others who are capable.”

Emma Hoyle led the Rams (0-15, 0-10) with five points and six rebounds and Alexa Peters scored seven points and grabbed four boards.

Greene County shot 15.4 percent from the floor, made 1-of-16 from 3 and connected on 4-of-5 from the foul line.