English Valleys Girls Celebrate 2004 Team with 70-26 Stomping

NORTH ENGLISH—On January 20, the English Valleys Bears hosted the Cedar Valley Christian Huskies for a non-conference matchup. The Bears bounced the Huskies by a final score of 70-26.

After the game, the school held a ceremony to commemorate the 2004 girls basketball team. A team that made a historic run to the Class 1A championship before falling just short, and finishing as the runner ups. The players one by one were introduced to a roar of cheers from the loyal Bears fans. The ceremony ended with the team breaking it down one last time in center court in front of everyone. 

The game started as perfectly as the Bears could've scripted. They held the Huskies to only three offensive points in the first quarter, while dropping 28 points of their own. They continued to dominate, as they out-scored the Huskies 18-1 in the second quarter to secure a 46-4 halftime lead. 

The Bears coasted to the 70-26 victory behind 27 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block from senior captain Kennedy Axmear. 

Fellow senior captain Delaney Hall finished her night with 13 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals. 

Hall spoke on the victory with, “I think tonight we played more as a team than we have been playing. It was really to get and win, and just have fun with each other. Just get back into the game and do things our way.”

Axmear described the day with, “This was a good game to come back to after all these snow days. We haven’t been able to practice much, so conditioning was a big factor today.”

When asked about what it felt like to perform in front of the historic 2004 girls team, Axmear responded with, “I know when they played, they went out there fearless. They just let everything fly, and watching them definitely boosted our ego.”

Hall shared a similar sentiment to the question with, “Have fun. Everyone talks about how they had fun, and went out there and played their game. That’s what we wanted to do. Show them how we play ball too.”

The Bears currently hold the top spot in the SICL East standings with a tiebreaker over the Sigourney Savages. Both teams hold an overall record of 8-4, but the Bears have a conference record of 6-2, while the Savages conference record currently sits at 4-4.

The Bears return to action on January 23, when they visit the Keota Eagles. They will then host the Savages the next night on January 24 for a battle of the two top teams in the SICL East conference.