Nodaway Valley girls used rare downtime to stay sharp

If managed correctly, breaks in a sports season can be used to a team’s advantage. The Nodaway Valley girls basketball team entered this week riding a nine-game winning streak, along with a six-day pause between games, and made a deliberate plan to turn the downtime into a positive.

The Wolverines last took the court Tuesday, Jan. 6, earning a 58-44 win over Southwest Valley before returning to the court this Monday, when they soundly beat East Union 75-23.

“You talk to the kids, if you’re a coach, all the time about trying to control what you can control,” Nodaway Valley head coach Brian Eisbach said. “Sometimes you can’t really control the schedule. Last week, we had played a lot of basketball in the four or five days leading up to that.”

To help the team recover physically, Eisbach invited physical education teacher Sami Britten to practice, where she led the players through a yoga session focused on stretching and recovery.

With a home boys wrestling meet Thursday, the girls team took the day off from practice to support the Wolverines, followed by a short practice Friday and another Sunday.

“Then we go four out of the next five days,” Eisbach said.

Nodaway Valley opened that stretch Monday with a game at East Union (1-9) before traveling Tuesday to conference-leading Mount Ayr (11-0), the No. 15 team in Class 1A. The Wolverines will host nonconference Panorama on Thursday, Jan. 15, before traveling to Wayne on Friday.

The Wolverines are led by state scoring leader Izzy Eisbach, who averages 33.7 points per game. Senior Emma Boswell adds 15.4 points per game, while freshman Abby Nelson is nearing double figures at 9.5 points per contest. Sophomore Ella Boswell has knocked down four 3-pointers this season, and freshman Sofie Rardin has provided key scoring off the bench. Eight players had logged minutes in all 10 games entering the week.

That balanced scoring was on display in the win over Southwest Valley. Eisbach scored 28 while adding six steals and seven rebounds. Boswell posted 16 points, including three 3-pointers, along with 10 rebounds. Nelson finished with 11 points and seven rebounds.

Nodaway Valley never trailed, leading 17-8 after the first quarter, 26-19 at halftime and 43-29 after three quarters. Senior Hailey Randall and freshman Mackenzie Fast each scored 13 points for the Timberwolves.

Against East Union, the Wolverines used a good defensive outing to get steals, layups and other baskets that widened the lead. Eisbach led all scorers with 33 while sisters Emma and Ella Boswell scored a dozen each.

“When you look at Izzy, Emma and Abby — our top three scorers — they can score in different ways,” Eisbach said. “But you’re starting to see Ella, Mattie (Thompson), Sofie and Chloe (Ohms) all getting more aggressive and more comfortable. All the girls are starting to get a little more comfortable, and we’re very happy with that.

“A big part of it is that we’re playing a lot of youth,” he added. “You’re really trying to boost confidence, not destroy it. It’s been refreshing to see the kids in the rotation settling in and, for lack of a better word, thriving and getting comfortable with the way we play basketball.”