Tribe cruises in pair of home wins

A pair of home contests graced the schedule of the Waukon girls basketball squad this past week. The Tribe made the most of the two games, posting sizeable wins over MFL-MarMac and New Hampton. Waukon's record is 16-0, which includes a 9-0 record in Northeast Iowa Conference action. vs. MFL-MarMac... One night after posting an emotional win over conference rival Decorah, the Indians hit their home court for a battle with MFL-MarMac. The Jan. 25 battle had its ups and downs, but the Tribe came out ahead, 78-42. The Bulldogs were expected to give the Indians some trouble, but a free throw by junior Tiffany O'Neill and a bucket each from seniors Sam Reiser and Carlyn Wacker gave Waukon a 5-0 advantage two minutes into the contest. A hoop by the Bulldogs' Erin Schultz turned the tide as MFL pieced together its own run for a 6-5 lead. Waukon was able to regroup as O'Neill and senior Emily Garrett provided seven consecutive points to help the Tribe score a 19-8 lead by the end of the frame. Waukon's momentum didn't last long in the second period. Senior Stephanie Snitker and Reiser added back to back scores, but the Bulldogs mounted a 13-2 run to pull within four points, 25-21, forcing Waukon coach Gene Klinge to call a timeout. The breather did the trick as the Tribe gathered its strength to rule the remaining four minutes of the half with 13 unanswered points and took a 38-21 lead. With the game pretty much in hand, Waukon seemed confident and extended its advantage in the third. Reiser paced the effort with 11 points in the frame, helping the Tribe to a 60-34 lead with just eight minutes to play. The senior tandem of Thea and Jordan Curtin helped the Indians grab their largest lead of the evening three minutes into the quarter. Both added two-point shots and Thea hit from behind the arc to put Waukon up, 74-38. MFL couldn't cut into that 36-point difference and the Tribe marched to the 78-42 victory. Klinge had expected a good effort from the Bulldogs, currently tied at the top of the Upper Iowa Conference. He was also unsure how his squad would react after defeating Decorah only the night before. "I was a bit concerned since we were just coming off a victory over Decorah the night before and this was a nonconference game. But, the kids rose to the occasion and did pretty well." The coach was pleased with his charges' quick start, but also a little disappointed with his team's defense at times. "We were off to a pretty good start, but then we quit playing defense. MFL cut our lead back to four points before we were able to get the ship righted. I was also a little disappointed in our defense on (Chelsey) Drahn. Other than that, we were solid most of the night." Once the Indians were sailing in the right direction, the going was fairly smooth. "We ended up shooting the ball pretty well. We shot 57 percent for the night," the coach added. Reiser led all scorers with 23 points while Garrett drained 16. O'Neill and Snitker added nine each. O'Neill had six rebounds and dished out three assists. She also denied two Bulldogs shot attempts. Wacker handed out a trio of assists and grabbed three steals. Reiser picked MFL's pockets eight times. Garrett and Snitker reeled in four boards apiece. WAUKON FG FT PF TP Alex Langland 0 0-0 0 0 Carlyn Wacker 3 0-0 1 8 Ruth Rolling 0 0-0 0 0 Molly Rixen 1 0-0 1 2 Thea Curtin 2 0-0 1 5 Tiffany O'Neill 4 1-2 2 9 Sam Reiser 10 0-0 2 23 Mandy McCarthy 0 0-0 0 0 Emily Garrett 6 4-8 2 16 Jordan Curtin 2 0-0 2 4 Stephanie Snitker 4 1-2 2 9 Stephanie Weighner 0 0-0 0 0 Ramsey Welch 1 0-0 2 2 TOTAL 33 6-12 15 78 3-point goals: Reiser (3); Wacker (2); T. Curtin mfl-marmac FG FT PF TP Danielle Vorwald 0 1-2 0 1 Brianna Williams 4 0-1 1 9 Stacy Neuhaus 2 2-2 3 6 Erin Schultz 4 3-4 3 11 Chelsey Drahn 6 0-2 4 12 Kaitlyn Rothmeyer 0 1-2 0 1 Keisha Schutte 0 0-0 0 0 Lynette Wagner 1 0-0 1 2 Tiffany Shafer 0 0-0 0 0 Syndey Reardon 0 0-0 0 0 Alice Rowe 0 0-2 1 0 TOTAL 17 7-15 13 42 3-point goals: Williams Junior varsity... Waukon's junior varsity squad recovered from a slow start to also defeat the visiting Bulldogs, 49-27. MFL outscored the Tribe in the first quarter, 8-6, but the Indians roared back in the second to capture a 21-19 lead by the half. Waukon's efforts snowballed in the third and fourth frames, posting 28 second half points while holding the Bulldogs to just eight. Coach Dave Schoeberlein points to his squad's defense as what turned the game around. "We got off to a slow start but then really turned it on in the third and fourth quarters. Our defense did a super job in the third." Offensively, the Indians had a solid night, shooting 46 percent from the field and landing nearly 73 percent of their free throws. "Our shooting percentage was up for this game and we shot really well from the line." Alex Langland shot 100 percent for the night, going eight-for-eight from the field, including a pair of triples, and landed her only foul shot to lead the Indians with 19 points. Leanna Hammel finished with six points, a pair of assists, and joined Langland with seven steals. Karisa Sickels added six points and reeled in five rebounds. Jessica Larkin grabbed four boards and Besty Farley finished with four steals. Lynsey Mellick also dished out two assists. WAUKON FG FT PF TP Jessica Larkin 2 0-0 1 4 Brittany Wood 0 0-0 0 0 Alex Langland 8 1-1 1 19 Betsy Farley 2 1-2 0 5 Tiffany Meyer 0 0-0 0 0 Leanna Hammel 2 2-2 1 6 Sarah Hammel 0 0-0 0 0 Jenna Schoeberlein 2 0-0 1 4 Lynsey Mellick 1 0-0 2 3 Hannah Jones 0 0-0 1 0 Karisa Sickels 1 4-6 2 6 Christie Dundee 1 0-0 4 2 Sarah Riese 0 0-0 0 0 Jennifer Lacewell 0 0-0 0 0 TOTAL 19 8-11 13 49 3-point goals: Langland (2); Mellick

Peak performance...
Junior forward Tiffany O'Neill gets a shot off over New Hampton's Angie Kipp Friday night. O'Neill finished the night with 17 points, 11 rebounds, and four steals in what coach Gene Klinge called "her best overall game of the season." Waukon won, 69-39. vs. New Hampton... A full house cheered the Indians on to victory Friday, Jan. 28, as the Tribe moved its NEIC record to 9-0 with a 30-point win over New Hampton. Although the ultimate result was a lopsided victory, the Chickasaws played the Tribe competitively early in the game. Buckets by O'Neill and Wacker pushed the Indians to a 4-0 lead, but New Hampton answered with a hoop and a pair of free throws. That knot was soon solved as Garrett landed a few free shots of her own. Reiser added a three-pointer and Jordan Curtin added a basket to get the Indians headed to a 17-10 first quarter lead. Wacker connected with O'Neill to start the second in fine fashion and Reiser scored on the drive to boost Waukon's advantage to double digits, 21-10. The Tribe lengthened its lead to 15 on a Garrett lay-in midway through the frame and took a 21-17 lead into the half. Waukon's lead continued to grow in the third, giving the Tribe a 47-27 advantage with one quarter left to play. Apparently the Indians saved their best effort for the final frame. New Hampton had kept the difference near 20 points, but Waukon rolled on a 15-4 run through the final five minutes to take the 69-39 win. Although the Indians retained the lead virtually the entire night, a combination of things led Klinge to wonder if the Chickasaws, currently fifth in league standings, would cause some problems. "New Hampton is probably the tallest team in the conference," he mentioned. Compounding that factor was the absence of Stephanie Snitker, out of the lineup to rest some weary knees. "Stephanie is our tallest player and we're hoping not to use her unless we really have to. We were pleased to get by without her and get a victory." Fortunately, Snitker's talents weren't needed. Klinge is also hoping to keep his center on the sidelines during upcoming contests with Crestwood and Postville. According to the coach, Snitker's therapist recommended she take it easy for a week or two to keep her healthy for postseason action. In Snitker's wake, O'Neill lit up the inside, posting a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. She also grabbed four steals. "Tiffany stepped up and really did a nice job for us. That was probably her best overall game of the season," Klinge stated. Jordan Curtin was able to step into the starting lineup in Snitker's stead. "Jordan started in Stephanie's place and did a nice job." Leading the Indian offense was Reiser's 18 points. The guard also grabbed six steals. Wacker finished with team-leading totals of six assists and eight steals. Garrett hauled in seven rebounds. The sizeable spread allowed several Indians to leave an impact on the score. "We had several reserves come in and do a nice job," the coach stated. Junior post Ramsey Welch and junior forward Ruth Rolling were singled out for their play. "I was pleased with the play we got out of Ramsey and Ruth played well, too. She was three-for-three from the field." WAUKON FG FT PF TP Alex Langland 0 0-0 0 0 Carlyn Wacker 4 0-0 3 10 Ruth Rolling 3 0-0 0 6 Molly Rixen 0 0-0 0 0 Thea Curtin 2 0-0 1 5 Tiffany O'Neill 7 3-5 2 17 Sam Reiser 7 3-3 2 18 Mandy McCarthy 0 0-0 0 0 Emily Garrett 2 4-5 3 8 Jordan Curtin 1 0-1 3 2 Stephanie Weighner 0 0-0 0 0 Ramsey Welch 1 1-2 1 3 TOTAL 27 11-16 15 69 3-point goals: Wacker (2); Reiser, T. Curtin new hampton FG FT PF TP Jenna Shatek 0 0-1 0 0 Amanda Seelhammer 2 2-2 1 6 Lydia Mitchell 0 0-0 0 0 Channing Weigel 4 0-0 1 11 Laura Rausch 2 2-2 4 6 Angie Kipp 0 2-2 5 2 Cassie Smith 0 0-0 0 0 Kim Humpal 3 0-0 1 6 Karla Bachman 1 0-0 0 2 Brittany Trewin 2 2-3 1 6 Lindsay O'Neill 0 0-0 2 0 TOTAL 14 8-10 15 39 3-point goals: Weigel (3) Junior varsity... The Indian junior varsity also scored a win over the visiting Chickasaws. Scoring started slowly with the game's first bucket scored halfway through the first frame. By the end of the quarter, the Tribe was ahead, 4-0. Offense picked up on both ends of the court in the second as Waukon took a 16-9 advantage into the half. Scoring slowed once again in the third. In fact, the Indians were unable to tally any points in the frame, but still held at narrow 16-12 lead. Fourth period play was once again filled with scoring as the Tribe went on to post a 30-23 win. Schoeberlein noted that his team played strongly at times, but also struggled. "We played rather off and on. At times our defense was really on, then it was really off. The same is true for our offense. A team will have off nights offensively, but the defense can't take a night off." The coach added that his squad's effort on the boards needs to be better, but he also pointed out a positive part of the win. "Our rebounding needs to improve in order for us to keep improving, but we did shoot pretty well from the free throw line." Lynsey Mellick paced the offense with ten points. Leanna Hammel added six. Alex Langland dished out a pair of assists. On the defensive end, Hammel snagged five steals and denied a Chickasaw shot attempt. Langland came up with five steals. Mellick and Karisa Sickels had three apiece. Hannah Jones and Jenny Hover grabbed three rebounds each. WAUKON FG FT PF TP Jessica Larkin 1 0-0 1 2 Alex Langland 2 1-2 3 5 Betsy Farley 0 0-0 0 0 Tiffany Meyer 0 2-2 0 2 Leanna Hammel 2 2-2 2 6 Jenna Schoeberlein 0 0-0 0 0 Lynsey Mellick 5 0-0 0 10 Hannah Jones 1 1-2 1 3 Jenny Hover 1 0-0 2 2 Karisa Sickels 0 0-2 3 0 Christie Dundee 0 0-0 1 0 TOTAL 12 6-10 13 30 The Indians hosted Crestwood Tuesday night in NEIC action. Friday, Feb. 4, the JV squad will travel to Kee for a 4 p.m. contest. Saturday, Feb. 5, the Tribe travels to Postville for nonconference action. The JV game begins at 5 p.m. with varsity to follow. Monday, Feb. 7, Waukon heads to Waterloo West for a make-up contest before traveling to Oelwein Tuesday, Feb. 8. Action starts both nights at 6:15 p.m.