Indians Complete Season Sweep of Cardinals, Fall to Norwalk Again
by Wade Steinlage
Oskaloosa–The Oskaloosa girls’ basketball team got the better of Newton once again last week, but on the flip side, came up short to Norwalk for the second time as well.
OHS (9-7, 3-7 LHC) defeated Newton 46-35 last Tuesday, but lost 66-39 to Norwalk last Friday.
In claiming the season sweep of the Cardinals (Oskaloosa also won 59-34 in December), the Indians had to overcome a cold shooting performance. Oskaloosa hit just 31.1% of its field goals, but also limited Newton to 25.0% from the field.
The Indians were not stellar from the free-throw line at 65.2%, but their 15-for-23 showing was much better than the Cardinals’ 8-for-18 effort.
The victors were bettered on the glass by eight (36-28), but fortunately committed three few turnovers (17-14) than Newton.
OHS went on top 12-4 after one quarter and stayed in control throughout, even though it only managed three points in the third period.
Presley Blommers scored nearly half of her team’s points, tallying 21 overall, including going 12-for-16 at the charity stripe.
Asia Thompson was next with nine points in a non-starting role, while Aubree Blanco just missed a double-double with eight points and 10 rebounds (two blocks as well). Addison Carter finished with five points as well, while dishing out three assists.
The Indians stole 13 balls in the victory with Macie Krier topping the efforts with four thefts.
“We started out slow, but picked it up in the second half,” Head Coach TC Cunningham said. “Our pressure defense was a huge reason for our win.”
Oskaloosa was in contention at the midway point against Norwalk, trailing 24-19, but was outpaced after the break.
The Indians struggled with severe foul issues all night and the free-throw discrepancy was glaring; the Warriors were 24-for-28, while OHS was just 2-for-9. Blommers, Thompson, and Lucy Roach all fouled out in the loss.
Oskaloosa stayed relevant by outshooting the Warriors 38.1%-35.8%, but had no answer for a stifling Norwalk defense that caused 31 Indian turnovers (just eight for Norwalk).
Blanco led OHS with nine points, while Thompson had six points in addition to seven rebounds. Blommers and Krier matched Thompson with six points each as well.
“We just got into too much foul trouble and could never get into a flow on offense,” Cunningham said.
