Indians Head Into Christmas Break 9-0 – Girls Building
Cole Henry battles at the hoop against Newton to help lead the Indians to a 9-0 start for the season. (photo by Wendy Van Roekel)
Newton, Iowa – The Oskaloosa Indians headed to Newton on Tuesday, December 19th to face one of the fiercest foes in the Little Hawkeye Conference, Garrett Sturtz and the Newton Cardinals.
Oskaloosa has struggled but overcome when facing tougher opponents this year; and managed to overcome a superhuman effort by Sturtz, who put up 44 points against the Indians.
Oskaloosa Head Coach Ryan Parker said going 9-0 was one of the goals the team set early in the year.
Parker said it was understood that Sturtz was going to get his points in the contest, they just didn’t expect him to put up 44.
Parker believes that the team will get better with games like the one against Newton. “As with tough competition, you need to execute better and we will.”
Building that program will continue into the break, as the team has several scrimmages set up. Iowa City West, Dowling, and Waukee are in the works to keep building.
With the depth of talent on the team, Oskaloosa can mitigate the damage when one player has an off night.
Parker says “it’s a testament to our team’s depth and weapons we have. When someone has a bad night, we have someone there to pick them up.”
“I really like the makeup of our team and how everyone gets along. I think team chemistry often gets overlooked and that is one of our strengths with this team,” added Parker.
Cole Henry lead the scoring for the Indians with 21 points and pulling in 10 rebounds. Henry also led the team in assists with 6.
Xavier Foster had 10 points and seven rebounds, while Jarad Kruse and Spencer Tucker each had 7 points.
Kruse also pulled down six rebounds, with Tanner DeKock adding 3 boards.
For the Newton Cardinals, Garrett Sturtz lead all scoring with 44 points and ten rebounds.
Quintrail Coley was the next highest scorer with 4 points and five rebounds.
For the varsity girls team, improvement was the name of the game.
Building upon the previous outing, Marleigh Denburger put up 14 points for the Indians, while Emma Kelderman added seven more points.
The Indians were balanced on the boards with 5 Indians having 4 or more rebounds, but Kaylee Johnson lead the team with seven rebounds. Jillian Jennings had five rebounds, while Lindsey Holmberg, Emma Kelderman, Mary Nelson, and Marleigh Denburger each had 4.
The Indians will be at home on January 5th when they host the state’s leading scoring team, Norwalk.
