Your Prep Sports

Following a loss to rival West Liberty in its first game following the holiday break West Branch needed to get back on track and back in the win column on Friday against Mid-Prairie.

The Bears turned to their senior leader to help do just that.

Senior forward Delaynie Luneckas had a double-double with 17 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocked shots as Class 2A No. 13 West Branch held off a late Mid-Prairie charge in a 54-47 win over the Golden Hawks in Wellman.

West Branch improved to 8-2 on the season and 7-2 in River Valley Conference play with the win while Mid-Prairie dropped to 5-4 on the season and in RVC play with its third straight loss.
Freshman August Palmer had a pair of key free throws in the final minute and finished with 14 points while sophomore Kylie Pickett had 12 points for West Branch which

West Branch shot 41 percent from the floor and went 7-of-19 from three-point range after making just one three-pointer and scoring 38 points in a loss to 3A ninth-ranked West Liberty on Tuesday.

The Bears double that total early as Pickett hit a pair of first-quarter triples to give West Branch a 12-11 lead after one quarter.

Luneckas scored the first five points of the second quarter igniting a 7-0 West Branch run and three-pointers by Pickett and Madelyn Stout made it a 13-2 West Branch run that pushed the lead to 12.

West Branch led 29-19 at the half but Mid-Prairie charged back.

Senior Maddie Nonnenmann battled foul trouble in a scoreless first half but scored 20 of the Golden Hawks’ final 26 points as Mid-Prairie used a 13-2 run to get as close as 44-42 in the fourth quarter.

Luneckas answered with a putback of her own miss and then scored off a move in the post before blocking a shot on the other end before Pickett hit her fourth three-pointer of the game to push the lead back to 51-42.

“She’s been one of the top players in the conference for a couple years now and so you have to try to find ways to make her uncomfortable,” Mid-Prairie coach Danny Hershberger said of Luneckas. “I thought we did a pretty good job on her, making her hit some tough shots and making her pass it back out. And I thought we did a better job in the second half adjusting, either making sure we get by or stopping up short before she can block our shot. It took a little bit to figure out how to how to adjust and be successful against her, but I thought we did a better job in the second half.”

Palmer hit a pair of free throws to make it 53-47 with 34 seconds left to seal the game.

Luneckas had two assists while Palmer had three steals and two assists.

Alyse Klinkkammer had five assists for the Bears.

West Branch              12  17  13  12  –  54

Mid-Prairie               11   8   14  14  –  47

West Branch (54) – Delaynie Luneckas 17, August Palmer 14, Kylie Pickett 12, Avery Schultes 4, Sadie Smith 4, Madelyn Stout 3

Mid-Prairie (47) – Maddie Nonnenmann 20, Amara Jones 7, Josie Greiner 5, Landry Pacha 4, Nora Pennington 4, Kylie Reinier 3, Maya Nonnenmann 2, Halli Hershberger 2

Did you enjoy this subscription free article? Help keep Your Prep Sports free by donating.