Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

NORTH LIBERTY – Keeping pace with high-powered City High is a tall task for a team on any night.

When the top-ranked Little Hawks are sharing the ball and hitting shots like they were on Friday there may not be a team in the state that can keep up.

Class 5A top-ranked City High shot 55 percent from the field and had four players in double figures in an 87-31 win over Liberty High on Friday in a Mississippi Valley Conference contest in North Liberty.

“I don’t think they should lose this season,” Liberty High coach Jamie Printy said of City High. “I think they are that good.”

The way the Little Hawks looked on Friday they may just prove Printy’s prediction right.  

City High (5-0, 4-0 MVC) raced to a 16-0 lead less than three minutes into the game on its way to a 30-point first quarter.

“We have multiple weapons on offense and when we move the ball around like we did tonight we are a pretty good basketball team,” City High coach Bill McTaggart said. “Our defense was better, we have a ways to go but we like the improvement we made from last week.”

City High used its full court pressure defense to force Liberty High in 13 first-quarter turnovers and turned many of those into easy baskets.

Liberty High (1-6) had 20 of its 32 turnovers in the opening half as City High built a 54-16 lead.

“The girls like to play that full court pressure and we’ve been working hard on our half court man but tonight we controlled the pace in the first quarter,” McTaggart said. “That I think today was the difference.”

Aubrey Joens had 15 of her game-high 31 in the opening quarter as City High jumped to a 30-9 lead.

It was far from just Joens that was in an offensive rhythm for City High on Friday.

City High moved the ball, passing up open shots for easier shots and everyone got into the act.

“It’s really hard to defend when you have multiple people that can score,” Joens said. “Moving the ball helps us all get better shots and better opportunities to guard and it’s harder to guard.”

Ella Cook had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Senior point guard Rose Nkumu had 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting and Paige Rocca added 11 points.

Kelsey Joens and Eviyon Richardson each had six points as City High shot 59 percent from the field in the first three quarters.

“It’s been a big focus in practice moving the ball and getting the best shots we can,” Cook said. “I think tonight was the best that we’ve done that.”

The 87 points were a season-high for City High and marked the fourth time in five games this season the Little Hawks have had 75 or more points.

“At every single position they have someone that can do everything,” Printy said. “It’s not just that they are drivers or they are shooters they do it all and they can defend and they play really hard. They are a very good basketball team.”

Freshman Keiko Ono-Fullard led Liberty High with 12 points and fellow frosh Avery Gaudet had seven points and five boards for the Lightning.

Liberty High got four points each from Isabel Smith, Kennedy Daugherty and Haley Napoli.

“All we talked about halftime is playing with pride and showing some fight,” Printy said. “Four out our seven are freshmen and sophomores so it was good for them to see that and it was refreshing to see how hard they played in the second half.”

City High                   30  24  24  9  –  87

Liberty High               9    7    4  11 –  31

City High (87) – Rose Nkumu 7-10 0-0 14, Carey Koenig 0-3 0-0 0, Kelsey Joens 3-8 0-0 6, Eviyon Richardson 2-2 2-3 6, Ayanna House 0-1 0-2 0, Andie Westlake 1-2 0-0 2, Ella Cook 4-8 6-6 15, Paige Rocca 4-7 1-2 11, Aubrey Joens 12-19 3-3 31, Anna Knoche 0-1 0-0 0, Kacie Earl 0-0 2-4 2, Team 33-61 14-20 87.

Liberty High (31) – Avery Gaudet 2-5 3-6 7, Isabel Smith 2-4 0-0 4, Cecily Johnston 0-1 0-0 0, Kennedy Daugherty 1-4 2-7 4, Keiko Ono-Fullard 5-17 1-4 12, Haley Napoli 1-3 2-6 4, Team 11-34 8-23 31.

3-point field goals – ICH 7-26 (Nkumu 0-2, Koenig 0-2, K. Joens 0-3, House 0-1, Westlake 0-1, Cook 1-2, Rocca 2-5, A. Joens 4-9, Knoche 0-1), ICL 1-6 (Johnston 0-1, Daugherty 0-1, Ono-Fullard 1-4). Rebounds – ICH 32 (Cook 10), ICL 28 (Meyer 5). Turnovers – ICH 7, ICL 32. Total fouls – ICH 15, ICL 15. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – None.

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