Indians Finish Sweep of Eagles, Fall Again to Tigers

by Wade Steinlage

Oskaloosa–The Oskaloosa girls’ basketball team wrapped up its regular season last week by splitting a pair of Little Hawkeye Conference matchups.

OHS (11-10, 4-9 LHC) defeated Pella Christian 48-29 last Tuesday, but came up short against #6 Grinnell 73-30.

The Indians, who had already beaten PC 45-28 on the road in January, were all over the Eagles from the start, holding a 13-3 advantage after eight minutes of action. The lead grew to 17 by halftime at 29-12.

Another lopsided third quarter (11-2) followed and Oskaloosa, which outshot PC 42.9%-22.2%, cruised down the stretch.

Addison Carter paced the Indians with 17 points on 6-for-12 shooting (5-for-9 3-PT). Aubree Blanco and Asia Thompson joined her in double figures with 10 points each, while Presley Blommers contributed eight points in the victory.

Overall, OHS made nine three-pointers and held a slight 28-26 edge in rebounding. The squad successfully overcame four more turnovers (17-13) and just three total free-throw attempts.

Blanco and Blommers topped the victors with five rebounds apiece, while Blommers also dished out five assists. Lucy Roach was the defensive start with four steals Tuesday.

Unfortunately, Oskaloosa found itself on the other side of a one-sided matchup three nights later as it trailed Grinnell 23-6 after the first quarter and 41-15 by intermission. The Indians, who were outshot 45.0%-30.8%, could not make up any ground in the latter half either.

OHS was doubled up in rebounds (36-18) and committed 22 turnovers, compared to just seven for Grinnell.

Thompson topped the scoring list with nine points off the bench (4-for-8 FG, 1-for-1 3-PT). She added five rebounds, four blocks, and two assists as well. Macie Krier was the only other Indian to score more than four points as she made a pair of long balls for six points.

The Indians were denied any trips to the charity stripe in the loss.