Late rally not enough for Baxter girls against state-ranked Montezuma

BAXTER — The Baxter girls basketball team can’t take away the third quarter of its non-conference home game against Class 1A No. 11 Montezuma.

But if the Bolts could, the end result would have been even closer. The Bravettes though pulled away from a five-point halftime lead with a big third and held off a late rally from Baxter during their 54-45 road win on Dec. 6.

“The first few minutes in the third were going to be critical, and we made some mistakes, let them make some shots and got down a bit,” Baxter head girls basketball coach Kyle Krampe said. “A lot of it is just us learning. A lot of the game we had three freshmen and two sophomores out there.”

The Bolts also played a hard-fought conference game the night before so Montezuma had fresher legs. That helped the Bravettes make 11 shots from outside. It was a significant advantage over the Bolts, who made only two treys in the loss.

“For us, we have to get into the gym and shoot more,” Krampe said. “We lost two really good 3-point shooters from last year’s team. I can see it. We have capable shooters.”

Montezuma (4-1) led Baxter 8-6 after one quarter and took a 23-18 lead into halftime.

The Bolts got layups from Emileigh Beals and Olivia Parrie and Kamdyn Krampe’s basket gave the hosts a 6-5 lead.

Montezuma scored the next five and 13 of the next 15 to go in front 18-8, but Baxter rallied behind Kamdyn Krampe, who scored back-to-back buckets and then made a layup to close the gap to 21-17.

Parrie also hit a 3 during that stretch and Beals made 1-of-2 from the free-throw line to close out the half and trim the Bolts’ margin to five.

“I was proud with how our young team battled and competed and if you told me we’d be down five at halftime before the game, I would have been ecstatic,” Coach Krampe said. “That’s a really good team. They are ranked for a reason.

“I was proud of the way they played. We played last night and didn’t get home until 11. They hadn’t play since Tuesday.”

The Bravettes won the third 16-8. They scored nine of the first 10 to go up 32-19. The back end of that stretch included back-to-back 3s from Claire Erselius and Vivian Cook, who combined to make nine 3s and score 32 of the Bravettes’ 54 points.

Kamdyn Krampe’s three-point play melted the Bolts’ deficit, but Montezuma scored seven of the next eight, including two more triples.

Kamdyn Krampe’s 3 took the Bolts into the fourth with a 13-point margin.

Erselius made things very difficult for a Baxter comeback after burying a pair of treys early in the final period.

The lead eventually got to 53-37 before Baxter ended the game on an 8-1 run. Kamdyn Krampe scored five of those eight points and finished with 24 points, five rebounds and four steals in the loss.

“The way we competed in the fourth, to bring it back, that’s the culture we’re trying to build here,” Coach Krampe said. “I challenged them in the fourth-quarter huddle to keep playing and keep competing and see what happens.”

The Bolts shot 33.3 percent from the floor, made 2-of-15 from 3 and connected on 13-of-20 from the foul line. They turned the ball over 17 times and were out-rebounded 32-18 but forced Montezuma into 27 turnovers and under 40 percent shooting for the game.

Parrie finished with 12 points, six rebounds and four steals, Beals added seven points, two rebounds and five steals and Kaylyn Krampe posted two rebounds and two assists. Avery Wonders grabbed two boards.

“Rebounding, free throws and turnovers are the keys to us winning. I tell them that all the time,” Coach Krampe said. “We ran a 1-3-1 and haven’t practiced rebounding out of it yet. So trying to locate someone out of it can be difficult. We did a better job in the second half. I want more offensive rebounds.

“Our pressure was really good. That’s going to be our calling card. We are not tall. We have quick guards. I think we’re going to be better defensively this year.”

Erselius led the Bravettes with 18 points and Cook added 14 points. They were a combined 9-of-25 from 3 and Sydnee Burgess totaled nine points and 13 rebounds.

Montezuma was 11-of-31 from deep in the win and connected on 9-of-12 from the foul line.

Two of the team’s three losses so far have come against teams ranked in the top 15 of 1A. The Bolts face another state-ranked team in Martensdale-St. Marys on Monday.

“That’s I wanted these kind of games now,” Coach Krampe said. “I want to be better in January and February and these games make us grow up fast and become the team we want to be later this year.”

GMG 48, Baxter 42

GARWIN — A tough shooting night plagued the Bolts against GMG on Friday.

Baxter took 21 more shots than the Wolverines but made three fewer from the floor during a 48-42 road loss in Iowa Star Conference South Division play.

Kamdyn Krampe finished with 19 points, five rebounds and a career-best nine steals but only four Bolts scored in the game.

Beals totaled 13 points, three rebounds and five steals, Parrie chipped in five points, 12 rebounds and two assists and Wonders posted five points, four rebounds and two steals.

Baxter (2-3, 2-1 in the conference) shot 25.8 percent from the floor and made 4-of-23 from 3. The Bolts lost by six but missed 13 free throws.

GMG (2-3, 2-0) turned the ball over 14 more times than Baxter (27-13) and missed 10 free throws. The Wolverines shot 44.4 percent from the floor despite making only 1-of-8 from 3.

The hosts out-rebounded the Bolts 39-25 and Skyler Murty finished with 14 points, six rebounds and five assists. Makayla Pendleton scored 19 points and Riah Boege grabbed 11 rebounds.