Road rally

STUART — The first quarter couldn’t have gone any worse for the Creston girls basketball team Tuesday night at West Central Valley.

The Wildcats, coming off a season-opening 56-46 win over Grand View Christian, bolted to a 13-0 lead before Creston finally scored on a putback by an unlikely offensive rebounder, 5-5 sophomore guard Kadley Bailey, six minutes into the game.

The quarter ended with West Central Valley leading 15-2, and the lead reached 14 points twice at 16-2 and 18-4 before the Panthers came to life in the final four minutes of the half to cut it to 25-14 at the break.

It was a different Creston team in the second half, outscoring the Wildcats 15-3 in the third quarter to take its first lead of the game, 29-28, on Bailey’s 3-pointer just before the buzzer. The Panther defense allowed only 21 points in the second half in earning a 51-46 victory to improve to 2-1 for the season.

“Gritty win. The first half couldn’t have gone worse,” Creston coach Tony Neubauer said. “Our kids never gave up and kept grinding. We had kids knock down big shots in the fourth quarter.”

Creston made only one of 20 shots from the field in the first quarter, but went 8-of-12 in the decisive fourth quarter. Bailey had a big game in several aspects, finishing with a team-high 19 points, seven steals and seven rebounds.

Ava Adamson had another big night off the bench for the Panthers with 16 points, including a team-best three 3-pointers. Point guard Hollynn Rieck directed an effective fast break with six assists while also scoring 10 points.

As the game was being decided, Rieck connected with Bailey downcourt on a long pass for a layup from the left side before the Wildcat defense could retreat to defend it.

“Kadley is my wide receiver and I’m her quarterback,” Rieck said smiling after the victory. “The shots weren’t falling for us early in the game. But we’re very confident in each other and we just tell each other to get out and run.”

Late flurry

West Central Valley senior guard Zoey Dickson sank her fifth 3-pointer of the game for a 42-39 Wildcat lead with 3:18 left. From there, Creston outscored the Wildcats 12-4 to secure the win.

Bailey drained a 3-pointer from the corner. On the next possession, she faked the long shot and drove across the lane to lay it in. Rieck turned a Wildcat turnover at halfcourt into a layup for a 46-44 lead. After WCV scored, Rieck sank a 3-pointer from the top of the key to break a 46-46 tie with 25 second left.

That proved to be the dagger as Creston’s defense forced another turnover and Bailey made two insurance free throws for the final five-point margin.

While Creston’s shooting wasn’t superb from either the field (28%) or the free throw line (46%), the extra opportunities at the line (26 attempts) proved to be a factor as the host team had 25 fouls to Creston’s 13. Four West Central Valley players ended with four fouls. Creston’s Ella Turner fouled out with two minutes left after providing five points and a team-high 10 rebounds.

“They started fouling us and had to sub out some people,” Bailey noted. “Then we just found confidence, gathered ourselves, found the open shot and played as a team.”

“Coach has been telling us all season that there isn’t going to be one girl to replace Doryn Paup scoring 20 points a game,” Rieck said. “It takes the whole team. Alyssa (Gerdes) and Braylee (Pokorny) were swapping in and out after Ella fouled out. I was proud of them that they stepped up and played a role in the win.”

Neubauer said the comeback was indicative of the relentless spirit of his young squad, regardless of the situation.

“If you had told me we were going to score 51 points after that first quarter, I’d say no way,” Neubauer said. “Getting back into the game and finishing it is big for us. We moved the ball in the second half and made plays. Sometimes you just have to weather stuff.”

Creston next takes on a tall St. Albert team in Council Bluffs next Tuesday. The Saintes lost to Harlan Tuesday, 48-44, in a battle of state-ranked teams.

W. CENTRAL VALLEY (46) — Totals — (FG FT PTS) 17 6-10 46. Zoey Dickson 6 0-0 17, Talia Williams 3 0-0 7, Macy Long 2 3-4 7, Malia Fuller 2 1-2 5, Tia Williams 2 0-0 4, Hope Hammond 1 0-0 2. 3-point goals — 6 (Dickson 5, Williams 1). Team fouls — 25. Fouled out — none.

CRESTON (51) — Totals — (FG FT PTS) 16 12-26 51. Kadley Bailey 6 5-11 19, Ava Adamson 5 3-5 16, Hollynn Rieck 3 2-6 10, Ella Turner 2 1-2 5, Brynn Tussey 0 1-2 1. FG shooting — 16-57 (28.1 percent). 3-point goals — 7-23 (Adamson 3, Bailey 2, Rieck 2). Rebounds — 30 (Turner 10, Bailey 7, Tussey 6, Rieck 4). Assists — 11 (Rieck 6). Steals — 15 (Bailey 7, Turner 4, Rieck 2). Blocked shots — 1 (Rieck 1). Turnovers — 13. Team fouls — 13. Fouled out — Turner.