Koeing and Peak Carry No. 3 West Branch Past West Liberty
Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports
WEST BRANCH – The main factor in West Branch turning an eight-point halftime deficit into a seven-point win over Class 3A seventh-ranked West Liberty on Tuesday was fairly straightforward.
It was all-state guard Sasha Koenig.
Koenig had 22 of her game-high 28 points in the second half but it was her often overlooked classmate in the West Branch backcourt that provided a much-needed spark.
Senior guard Lexie Peak hit three 3-pointers during a 17-2 run to start the second half as 2A third-ranked West Branch rallied for a 46-39 win over West Liberty in a top-10 battle of River Valley Conference South Division contenders in West Branch.
“We shot 20 percent from the field in the first half so seeing a shot go in the basket helped especially three in a row and especially coming from her,” Koenig said of Peak. “She is one of the hardest workers on the team and she cares about everyone on our team so you want that for her.”
Koenig and Peak combined to score all but three West Branch second-half points as the Bears clinched at least a share of the RVC South Division title.
West Branch improved to 13-1 on the season and in RVC play with its fourth win in six days and now has a three-game advantage on South Division contenders West Liberty (10-5, 10-4) and Regina in the loss column.
Peak hit back-to-back 3-pointers in a span of 67 seconds in the third quarter as West Branch needed just more than three minutes of the second half to erase a 20-12 halftime deficit.
“Lexie stepped up and made huge shots in that third quarter and that’s the difference in the game if you ask me,” West Branch coach Jarod Tylee said. “That was the difference, her making shots.”
Peak missed her only shot of the first half and Koenig was 2-of-6 from the floor, all from 3-point range as West Branch shot 22 percent in the opening two quarters.
West Branch was held scoreless for the final 6:44 of the half as West Liberty rattled off 13 consecutive points to take a 20-12 halftime lead.
The Bears committed 13 first-half turnovers and were 2-of-5 from the free throw line.
Yet the halftime message from Tylee was positive.
“Our coaches were really encouraging,” Peak said. “They weren’t upset, they weren’t frustrated, they weren’t angry, they knew we could do it and comeback. They had really encouraging words and put a smile on our face for sure.”
The tide turned quickly after halftime.
Koenig scored on a driving layup a minute into the third quarter and Peak hit her first 3-pointer just 27 seconds later.
The first 3-pointer from Peak was the spark.
“It was definitely a mood changer for sure,” Peak said of her 3-pointer that cut the lead to 20-17. “It was really exciting and the bench got into it and got us going.”
Sailor Hall pushed the lead back to 22-17 with a pair of free throws but West Branch rattled off 12 consecutive points to take its biggest lead of the game.
Peak started that 12-0 burst with a 3-pointer with 5:27 left in the quarter and her third and final 3-pointer put West Branch up 27-22 with 3:54 left.
“I’m not always the one to take the most shots but when I do it is usually needed,” Peak said. “It’s something coach has talked to me about a lot is having confidence to shoot any time.”
Peak entered averaging 6.2 points but is shooting 42 percent from 3-point range on the season.
The big third quarter from Peak was no surprise.
“It’s confidence, it’s her having confidence in herself and it’s our coaching staff and our players having confidence in her to make those shots,” Tylee said. “When it leaves her hand I fully expect its going in, I really do and she stepped up and made huge shots for us tonight.”
After Peak provided the third-quarter spark Koenig took care of the rest.
The senior point guard scored 14 of the Bears’ 17 points in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
“The last two quarters it was her game,” Tylee said. “I just feel like she answered the call.”
Koenig hit all six of her second-half field goal attempts and didn’t miss a shot in the fourth quarter.
She started the fourth quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers that put West Branch up 35-28 with 6:38 to play and the Comets never got closer than five the rest of the way.
“I know she gets all kinds of recognition but when she plays against that team, that is a school that she went to for a lot of years and she is playing against two of her family members and I know it’s not easy on her,” Tylee said of Koenig. “She stepped up tonight and she was outstanding.”
Delaynie Luneckas was saddled with foul trouble for much of the second half and finished with five points and seven rebounds.
Rylan Druecker didn’t score but had a team-high 10 rebounds for West Branch while Taya Young had seven boards.
“When Delaynie had to sit with four fouls Bailey Donohoe and Sadie Smith came in and gave us good minutes,” Tylee said. “Taya was not feeling great tonight and she gutted it out and I’m extremely proud of her.”
Sailor Hall led West Liberty with 12 points while Macy Daufeldt had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
West Branch 7 5 17 17 – 46
West Liberty 7 13 4 15 – 39
West Branch (46) – Lexie Peak 3-5 0-0 9, Sasha Koenig 9-13 6-7 28, Delaynie Luneckas 1-5 3-5 5, Madison Hovancik 0-1 0-0 0, Rylan Druecker 0-8 0-0 0, Taya Young 1-4 0-2 2, Bailey Donohoe 1-1 0-0 2, Totals 15-37 9-14 46.
West Liberty (39) – Sailor Hall 2-14 8-9 12, Finley Hall 1-9 5-9 7, Macy Daufeldt 5-16 0-3 10, Janey Gingerich 2-4 1-5 5, Averi Goodale 2-13 0-0 5, Martha Pace 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 12-5714-26 39.
3-point field goals – WB 7-19 (Peak 3-5, Koenig 4-8, Druecker 0-6), WL 1-27 (S. Hall 0-9, F. Hall 0-7, Daufeldt 0-1, Goodale 1-10). Rebounds – WB 38 (Druecker 10), WL 38 (Daufeldt 11). Turnovers – WB 19, WL 9. Total fouls – WB 17, WL 16. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – None.
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