Jake Ryder – North Tama senior Ava Breakenridge (4) scores two game-high 17 points in front of GMG’s Makayla Pendleton (44) in Iowa Star Conference basketball game in Garwin shoot.
GARWIN – The North Tama girls basketball pressure defense crunched GMG with a 51-28 victory over the Redhawks on Friday at GMG High School.
The Redhawks (7-7, 6-3 Iowa Star South) led GMG 16-2 after eight minutes and forced numerous turnovers in the first quarter.
“This team has to press,” North Tama coach Harold Young Blute said. “We pressed longer than most games today because if you don’t do that, you get very lethargic for some reason. So we’ll be an emergency team.”
Ava Breakenridge scored a game-high 17 points for the Redhawks. Gabby Seda added 10 points, Shawna Cibula added eight points and Gabby Velasco chipped in with seven points.
North Tama’s lead grew to 29-11 at halftime and remained in that range for most of the second half.
“We played the ball a little better tonight,” Youngblut said. “We’re kind of a two-player attack right now, and (GMG’s) triangle and two-way were causing us a little bit of trouble here until we started passing the ball better.
“Our defense was the difference in the game. We were shut down from doing a lot of good things with her (Makayla Pendleton) having a lot of things to do in the post.
North Tama took second place in Baxter at the Iowa Star South after BCLUW won the Bolts on Friday. The RedHawks begin a three-game week with a non-conference tilt in Tripoli on Monday.
Brooklyn Jones and Arianna Pierce each had eight points for GMG (5-11, 2-6). Skyler Marty added six points.
“It’s hard to replicate their length in practice,” GMG head coach Devon Diederichs said. “We’re really young at the guard spot right now, so we’re learning how to pass the ball and things like that. Credit to North Tama, they’re a really good basketball team and they gave us attention. We have two scorers that really took over the game that we had to pay for. Their role players did a phenomenal job tonight.”
GMG will welcome Baxter on Tuesday.
“Once we were able to get into half court, we were moving the ball and taking good shots,” Diederichs said. “We need to learn how to complete it so it continues to go that way.”
North Tama 51, GMG 28
North Tama (7-7, 6-3) – Cruz Ewalt 1 0-0 2, AVA BreakenRidge 5 7-10 17, Gabriella Seda 4 2-2 10, Lily Sell 2 1-4 5, Gabby Velasco 3 0 -0 7, Isla Breakenridge 0 0-0 0, Adi Fuller 0 0-0, Shawna Cibula 4 0-0 8, Brynley Seda 0 0-0 0, Kahia Even 1 0-0 2, Violet Seda 0 0-00. Totals 20 10-16 51.
GMG (5-11, 2-6) – Skyler Murty 2 2-6 6, Olivia Maddux 0 0-0 0, Rhianna Murty 0 1-2 1, Brooklyn Jones 4 0-0 8, Makayla Pendleton 1 1-2 3, Bryleigh Bartel 0 0-0 0, Madison Bryant 0 0-0 0, Landry August 1 0-0 2, Ava Maddux 0 0-0 0, Arianna Pierce 3 2-28. Totals11 6-12 28.
N. TAMA 16 13 8 14 – 51
GMG 2 9 6 11 – 28
3-point goal – NT 1 (Velasco). Team Fouls – NT 13, GMG 16. FouledOut -Pendleton.
Jake Ryder – North Tama senior Ava Breakenridge (4) scores two game-high 17 points in front of GMG’s Makayla Pendleton (44) in Iowa Star Conference basketball game in Garwin shoot.
Grundy Center – Four players scored in double figures for Grundy Center as the Spartans boys basketball team…
