Sigourney ends losing skid with win over Iowa Valley

The Sigourney boys' basketball squad has had a rough stretch of games, having lost four of their last five before going into a matchup against Iowa Valley on January 30. They put that streak to rest however, as they hung on to beat Iowa Valley 51-44.

Sigourney got off to a slow start in the first quarter, as they put together nine points on offense, while the defense held Iowa Valley to just five points. The second quarter was close again, but Sigourney was able to increase their lead and go into the half up 21-14.

"We played a really good stretch at the end of the second quarter and into the third to build up our lead," Sigourney coach Mitch Eslick said. "To their credit they kept chipping away at our lead until it was down to a single possession."

The second half both teams' offenses started to get going, as Sigourney put together their early string of points, but Iowa Valley countered with some of their own. After the third quarter concluded the margin remained the same with the score of 31-24.

Iowa Valley matched Sigourney down the stretch, as both squads put up 17 points in the final quarter, but it was closer throughout the last few minutes.

"We executed our press break late in the game and made some big free throws to hold on," Eslick said. "Our rebounding played a crucial part in this win. We doubled them up on the boards and gave ourselves multiple second chances on offense, which was huge."

A trio of Savages scored a dozen points including Kyle Weber, Spencer Magill and Brady Powers. Kyle had a team-high nine rebounds, Magill had four assists and Powers had eight steals. Dawson Baumert and Eric Johnson combined for 13 boards, 10 points, four assists and two steals. Cole Weber and Brett Striegel chipped in for the final five points for the Savages in the win. In total, Sigourney recorded 45 rebounds, 16 of which came on the offensive side of the floor.

"We definitely would like to build momentum behind this win to carry into the last week of the regular season and then districts," Eslick said. "We should have a chance against some evenly matched teams. This win was big since Iowa Valley is a quality opponent, hopefully it'll give us confidence."

The Savages finish out the regular season hosting Twin Cedars on February 9, then will play Moravia on February 15 at Lynnville-Sully for the first round of districts.


 

Contact

The News-Review

120 East Washington
Sigourney, Iowa 52591
Phone: 641-622-3110
News: news@sigourneynewsreview.com
 

601 G. Avenue/PO Box 245
Grundy Center, IA 50638
Telephone: 1-319-824-6958
Fax: 1-319-824-6288
News: editor@gcmuni.net
Sales: registerads@gcmuni.net
 

Mid-America Publishing

This newspaper is part of the Mid-America Publishing Family. Please visit www.midampublishing.com for more information.