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The Creston girls basketball team and senior Caitlin McIlravy continued their offensive breakout with a Friday home win over Red Oak, before the offense struggled in a Saturday loss at Atlantic.
Creston went on a 19-4 run to start the third quarter in Friday’s 65-38 win over Red Oak, but fell behind early in Saturday’s 68-43 loss to Atlantic.
The Panthers now sit in fifth place in the Hawkeye 10 Conference at 11-7 overall and 5-4 in league play. Friday’s game against Red Oak counted in the conference standings, but Saturday’s game against Atlantic did not.
After McIlravy had a career-best 22 points in Thursday’s win over Clarinda, she dropped in 17 more Friday against Red Oak to help spur the Panthers’ 19-4 third-quarter run.
The Panthers got 3-pointers from Taylor Briley, Brielle Baker and McIlravy in the period, turning a 27-18 halftime lead into a 50-26 lead going into the fourth quarter.
“My goodness, she (McIlravy) has played so hard and with so much confidence,” Creston head coach Brent Douma said Friday. “It’s a blessing to find that right now at this time of the season, going into the last couple of weeks and tournament time.”
Douma said McIlravy’s emergence as another outside shooter will prove important for the Panthers, who see a lot of zone defenses.
Briley led the team with 18 points to go with four assists in the win. McIlravy added six steals to her 17 points and all-time leading scorer Jenna Taylor finished with 12 points and six rebounds in the win. Lexie Little and Baker each scored six points.
Saturday was a different story, though.
The Panthers trailed 22-8 after one quarter and never recovered in the 68-43 loss to Atlantic.
Briley and Taylor each scored 12 points to lead the Panthers, while Baker added nine. McIlravy, who had averaged 19.5 points over the previous two games, was limited to just two points.
Creston also managed only 17 rebounds in the game, while Atlantic’s Erin Olsen scorched the Panthers for 27 points on 9 of 14 shooting. The Panthers shot just 29 percent from the floor in the loss, compared to 62.5 percent shooting by Atlantic.
The Panthers host Chariton tonight at 7:30 p.m. on senior night.
Friday
RED OAK (38) — Hannah Vial 8 0-0 23, Angela Mahoney 4 0-0 8, Sierra Athen 1 3-4 5, Maysen Havener 1 0-0 2. Totals — 14 3-5 38. FG shooting — 14-46 (30.4 percent). 3-point goals — 7 (Vial 7). Steals — 4. Rebounds — 27. Team fouls — 17. Fouled out — Athen.
CRESTON (65) — Taylor Briley 5 7-8 18, Caitlin McIlravy 6 3-4 17, Jenna Taylor 5 2-2 12, Lexie Little 2 2-2 6, Brielle Baker 2 1-2 6, Cammy Rutherford 2 0-2 4, Camryn Somers 0 2-2 2. Totals — 22 17-22 65. FG shooting — 22-53 (41.5 percent). 3-point goals — 4-12 (McIlravy 2, Briley 1, Baker 1). Rebounds — 28 (Rutherford 7, Taylor 6, Baker 4, Somers 4, Little 3). Assists — 16 (Taylor 4, Briley 4, Little 3, McIlravy 2). Steals — 18 (McIlravy 6, Rutherford 3). Turnovers — 7. Team fouls — 11. Fouled out — none.
Red Oak — 10 18 26 38
Creston — 14 27 50 65
JUNIOR VARSITY
The Creston JV team improved to 16-2 for the season with a 39-35 win over Red Oak on Friday.
Madison Callahan led the Panthers with 11 points in the win.
“We were fortunate to win tonight,” Creston JV coach Ryan McKim said. “Red Oak outplayed us. They were more aggressive and really had us out of sync. We needed better player movement against their man-to-man pressure. At the end of the day, though, it was good to get the win.”
Creston (39) — Madison Callahan 11, Cayla Maitlen 8, Breanna Wallace 6, Saige Rice 6, Logan Pettit 4, Bre Ross 3, Megan Haley 1.
Red Oak (35)
Saturday
ATLANTIC (68) — Erin Olsen 9 5-6 27, Tiffany Williams 7 1-2 15, Catherine Leonard 2 3-4 8, McKenna DenBeste 3 1-2 7, Stephanie Sandbothe 2 1-2 5, Emily Hohenberger 0 2-2 2, Baylee Newell 1 0-0 2, Skye Thompson 1 0-0 2. Totals — 25 13-18 68. FG shooting — 25-40 (62.5 percent). 3-point goals — 5 (Olsen 4, Leonard 1). Steals — 10. Rebounds — 20. Team fouls — 13. Fouled out — none.
CRESTON (43) — Taylor Briley 3 4-4 13, Jenna Taylor 5 1-1 13, Brielle Baker 4 0-2 9, Lexie Little 1 0-0 2, Caitlin McIlravy 1 0-0 2, Camryn Somers 1 0-0 2, Cammy Rutherford 1 0-0 2. Totals — 16 5-7 43. FG shooting — 16-55 (29.0 percent). 3-point goals — 6-23 (Briley 3, Taylor 2, Baker 1). Rebounds — 17 (Baker 5, Taylor 3, Somers 3, Rutherford 2). Assists — 9 (McIlravy 3, Briley 2, Somers 2). Steals — 5 (McIlravy 2, Briley 2). Blocked shots — 1 (Rutherford 1). Turnovers — 14. Team fouls — 16. Fouled out — none.
Atlantic — 22 36 51 68
Creston — 8 23 34 43
JUNIOR VARSITY
Creston’s JV girls team picked up a 66-44 win over Atlantic on Saturday to move to 17-2 for the season.
Madison Callahan scored 17 points to lead the Panthers and Taylor Buxton netted 16.
“We played really hard and executed tonight,” Creston JV coach Ryan McKim said. “We had great movement, both ball and player, and knocked down the good looks we were getting. Proud of the girls.”
Creston (66) — Madison Callahan 17, Taylor Buxton 16, Breanna Wallace 9, Megan Haley 7, Cayla Maitlen 5, Saige Rice 4, Kesia Stewart 4, Bre Ross 3, Logan Pettit 1. Halftime score — Creston 40, Atlantic 22.
Atlantic (41)
FRESHMEN
The Creston freshmen girls played just two quarters against Atlantic on Saturday and outscored the Trojans 35-15.
Kesia Stewart led the team with 12 points.
“With 25 points in the first of two quarters, tonight was a big improvement,” Creston freshman coach Mallory Peterson said. “Came out ready to play, got the ball moving on offense and got good looks that way. Shots were really falling for us.”
Creston (35) — Kesia Stewart 12, Bre Ross 7, Taylor Buxton 4, Grace Root 3, Saige Rice 2, Megan Haley 2.
Atlantic (15)