Your Prep Sports

West Branch found the perfect cure for a two-game losing skid on Friday evening – a heavy dose of defense.

The Bears limited Class 3A No. 15 Mid-Prairie to seven second-half points and just one field goal after halftime in a 43-28 win over the Golden Hawks in a River Valley Conference South Division matchup in West Branch.

Delaynie Luneckas had a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds as West Branch improved to 14-6 on the season and 12-5 in RVC play while completing the season sweep of Mid-Prairie.

“We worked a lot on communication and just knowing where their shooters are or the players we need to stop and I feel like we were effective in that today,” Luneckas said. “They got us a little bit in that first half and caught us off guard on a couple shots, but we were trying a new defense. So, I feel like the work we put in on that helped tonight.”

Mid-Prairie took its only lead of the game at 5-4 in the opening quarter but it was short lived as Kylie Pickett hit back-to-back three-pointers.

Pickett had four three-pointers, including one at the third-quarter buzzer that gave West Branch a 37-24 lead, and matched Luneckas with 12 points.

Madelyn Stout hit three three-pointers including one that just beat the first-quarter buzzer as West Branch closed the quarter on a 9-1 run.

“It is just confidence with our kids,” West Branch coach Jarod Tylee said. “We talked about it the other day in practice where our kids just need to be confident shooting the ball and I thought for the most part we looked confident shooting the ball today.”

Mid-Prairie (13-8, 12-7) hit six three-pointers in the opening half as Maddie Nonnenmann, Cana Rediger and Amara Jones all had a pair of triples in the opening two quarters.

West Branch still led 25-21 at the break and cracked down defensively in the second half.

The Bears limited Mid-Prairie to seven second half points and just one field goal in the final 16 minutes, a three-pointer with 50 seconds left in the game.

The 28 points were a season low for Mid-Prairie and were 19 fewer than the Golden Hawks had in a seven-point loss to West Branch in January.

Sadie Smith had six points, seven rebounds and blocked four shots for West Branch while Luneckas had three blocks.

“We have her in the middle to protect the basket,” Tylee said of Luneckas. “It helps our guards and our bottom people in the zone to be able to stretch out a little more on their shooters knowing that they’ve got that basket protector behind them. It gives them a little more comfortable feeling and lets them be more aggressive.”

Stout had nine points while Pickett had four rebounds and three steals to go with her 12 points.

Avery Schultes had two points, two assists and two rebounds and Alyse Klinkkammer had four assists for the Bears.

Mid-Prairie                  6   15   3   4  –  28

West Branch               10  15  12  6  –  43

West Branch (43) – Delaynie Luneckas 12, Kylie Pickett 12, Madelyn Stout 9, Sadie Smith 6, Avery Schultes 2, Olivia Naber 2

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