Mount Ayr girls stay unbeaten

BEDFORD — Izzy Gilbertson nearly recorded a triple-double Thursday in leading Mount Ayr to a 47-27 victory over Class 1A 15th-ranked Bedford.

Gilbertson had 24 points, 13 rebounds, nine steals and five assists as the Raiderettes improved to 5-0 overall. Bedford slipped to 4-1 before rebounding Friday in a 65-5 romp over Hamburg.

Bedford had just moved into the state ratings earlier in the week with its undefeated start. But, the Mount Ayr defense strangled Bedford’s offense in a low-scoring contest. Mount Ayr’s leads after the first two quarters were 8-4 and 15-10.

The Raiderettes slammed the door on any Bedford comeback hopes with a 12-0 run to start the third quarter, stretching the margin to 27-10 before Charlotte Shafer scored for the Bulldogs with 2:41 left in the period.

Mount Ayr coach Thad Streit said a key to the win was limiting Bedford sharpshooter Caroline Simmons to four points. Simmons had scored 23 points in the season opener against Stanton and was averaging double figures (13.0). Bedford finished 1-of-18 from 3-point range and shot 23.4% from the field overall.

“We knew Caroline Simmons was a good player,” Streit said. “She’s a pretty good shooter so we knew we couldn’t let her get hot. I thought we did a good job rebounding the ball, I know Izzy had a bunch. We were kind of shooting ourselves in the foot offensively. We were getting good shots, just not hitting them. We did a lot of good things.”

Mount Ayr had a 40-33 rebounding edge and forced 26 Bedford turnovers with its active defense. MaKel Jones and Emma Reynolds combined for five steals and Jaylee Shaffer boosted the offense with 10 points.

Gilbertson followed Thursday’s performance with a 24-point effort in Friday’s 81-47 home win over Southeast Warren. Shaffer sank five 3-pointers in scoring 18 points. Dannie Stewart had 13 points. Jessica Lillig scored 18 points for Southeast Warren.

The Raiderettes established control early, leading 23-4 after the first quarter. Mount Ayr is 6-0 overall and 4-0 in the Pride of Iowa going into Tuesday’s game at Wayne (3-2, 2-1).

THURSDAY

BEDFORD (27) — Totals — (FG FT PTS) 11 4-4 27. Kalynn Moore 3 0-0 6, Paisley Sleep 1 4-4 6, MaKayla Nicholas 2 0-0 5, Caroline Simmons 2 0-0 4, Aniya Hardee 2 0-0 4. FG shooting — 11-47 (23.4 percent). 3-point goals — 1-18 (M. Nicholas 1). Steals — 12 (Simmons 3, M. Nicholas 3, Hardee 3). Rebounds — 33 (M. Nicholas 7, Sleep 6, Hardee 6, Strong 5, Simmons 5). Turnovers — 26. Team fouls — 12. Fouled out — none.

MOUNT AYR (47) — Totals — (FG FT PTS) 19 5-15 47. Izzy Gilbertson 11 2-4 24, Jaylee Shaffer 3 1-2 10, Emma Reynolds 2 1-2 5, Dannie Stewart 1 1-6 3, Kate Newton 1 0-0 3, MaKel Jones 1 0-1 2. FG shooting — 19-54 (35.2 percent). 3-point goals — 4-21 (Shaffer 3, Newton 1). Rebounds — 40 (Gilbertson 13, Jones 9, Keely Wasteney 7). Assists — 13 (Gilbertson 4, Shaffer 3, Reynolds 2, Stewart 2). Steals — 16 (Gilbertson 9, Jones 3, Reynolds 2). Blocked shots — 7 (Gilbertson 5). Turnovers — 17. Team fouls — 6. Fouled out — None.

FRIDAY

SE WARREN (47) — Totals — (FG FT PTS) 18 7-11 47. Jessica Lillig 7 2-2 18, Madison Olasky 3 3-4 10, Olivia Costigan 3 0-0 6, Rylee Seuferer 1 2-2 4, Allie Geisler 1 0-0 2. 3-point goals — 4 (Lillig 2, Olsasky 1, Ruble 1). Team fouls — 13. Fouled out — None.

MOUNT AYR (81) — Totals — (FG FT PTS) 32 9-16 81. Izzy Gilbertson 13 1-2 28, Jaylee Shaffer 6 1-2 18, Dannie Stewart 5 2-2 13, Emma Reynolds 3 1-3 7, MaKel Jones 3 1-3 7, Kenzie Barnes 1 0-0 3, Tatum Friedrich 0 2-2 2, Kacie Larsen 1 0-0 2, Kate Newton 0 1-2 1. 3-point goals — 8 (Shaffer 5, Stewart 1, Gilbertson 1, Barnes 1). Team fouls — 10. Fouled out — None.