Notre Dame girls basketball gets emotional lift from Nadiya Jones in road win over West Burlington
Play hard and have fun.
Those were the words of wisdom Roger Hingst imparted to all of his grandchildren who played sports at Notre Dame High School.
Notre Dame junior Nadiya Jones took her late grandfather's advice to heart Tuesday.
One day after laying her grandfather to rest, Jones came off the bench to score four points and ignite a Nikes' run which helped Class 1A's 14th-ranked Notre Dame pull away for a 76-57 victory over West Burlington in an SEI Superconference South Division game at West Burlington.
Playing with a heavy heart, Jones went out and put forth the effort that would have made Roger Hingst proud.
"One of his quotes he would always tell all of us grandkids was to play hard and have fun. I'm always going to keep that in mind," Jones said. "It's been very sad. My grandpa and I were very close. He's always been there for me. He would always come to all the games that he could. (Monday) I wasn't able to make it to the game, but I'm excited that I got to play tonight and I did my best."
"She's going to help us. She's got a great shot. She just has to get back in shape," Notre Dame head coach Corey Stephens said of Jones. "She had some tough week with some family stuff and she hasn't been to practice all week. We were just thinking of her. We know she's going to help us out."
A game of runs
Basketball is a game of runs, and Notre Dame put together runs at the end of the first and third quarters to create separation.
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After a 3-pointer by West Burlington senior McKenna Marlow knotted the score at 15 midway through the first quarter, the Nikes responded with a 13-2 run and never would trail again. Anna Engberg scored five points, Maddy Mosena added four points and Gabby Deery and Abby Korschgen each had a basket to key the uprising.
Then in the third quarter, baskets by Abbey Bence and Marlow pulled the Falcons within 50-42. This time, Lauren Krieger scored four points and Mosena and Deery each had a basket to spark an 8-3 run to break the game open again.
"We got it to within eight," West Burlington head coach John Vandenberg said. "I probably should have called a timeout to give our girls a break. I was going to get a timeout, but they went on a little spurt and by then it was too late to get the timeout."
Notre Dame had five players score in double figures.
"That's going to be our key thing," Stephens said. "We don't have one person taking over. We have five, six girls who can score the ball. That's going to be helpful for us in the long run. It's hard for teams to guard five, six people."
Short-handed West Burlington girls basketball team shows grit
West Burlington came into the game down two starters with Isabelle Ritter and Bella Balufuss both out. That left the Falcons with just seven players, yet they managed to keep the game within striking distance until the final minutes.
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"These girls give me everything they have. We're vocal coaches and they understand that. They take it and they work. They come every day to get better, which is awesome," Vandenberg said. "We were definitely short-handed and it showed at the end. We were throwing some lazy passes and we didn't rebound well. Our girls played hard. They didn't quit. They didn't give up. It was very physical in the paint. Abbey (Bence) did a tremendous job. These younger girls, Kyra (Garr) and Taryn Snodgrass, did some nice things. The day of the game you hear two of your starters are out, it's next man in. I was proud of our girls."
"Bence and Marlow are just tough. They definitely kept them in the game. It was tough stopping them, but luckily we had enough horses to do that," Stephens said. "This is a big rivalry. They were a little short-handed tonight, but you can't rely on that. You have to still come out and play the game. That's what I told the girls. Just because you are down two girls doesn't mean you play any less aggressive."
On the horizon
Notre Dame (2-0 overall, 2-0 SEI Superconference South Division) hosts Van Buren County at 6 p.m. Friday at Father Minett Gymnasium.
West Burlington (0-1, 0-1) travels to Fort Madison to play Holy Trinity at 6 p.m. Friday at Shottenkirk Gymnasium. The Falcons host Mount Pleasant at 3 p.m. Saturday.
By the numbers
NOTRE DAME (76)
Taryn Stephens 3-7 0-0 7, Maddy Mosena 6-8 0-0 13, Anna Engberg 5-11 0-0 13, Gabby Deery 8-18 0-0 16, Lauren Krieger 5-13 2-2 12, Abby Korschgen 4-6 3-4 11, Nadiya Jones 2-3 0-0 4, Lexi Korschgen 0-0 0-0 0. 33-66 5-6 76.
WEST BURLINGTON (57)
Kyra Garr 0-1 0-0 0, Kenna Marlow 7-19 1-2 17, Taryn Havener 5-16 0-0 11, Abbey Bence 4-21 9-12 21, Isabella Callison 3-4 0-0 7, Taryn Snodgrass 0-4 1-2 1, Kennedy Ritter 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 19-65 11-16 57.
Score by quarters
Notre Dame. 28. 14. 16 18. — 76
West Burlington. 17. 10. 18. 12. — 57
Fouls: Notre Dame 13, West Burlington 7. Fouled out: None. Technicals: None. 3-point goals: Notre Dame 5-16 (Engberg 3-7, Mosena 1-1, Stephens 1-2, A.Korschgen 0-1, Jones 0-1, Krieger 0-4), West Burlington 8-21 (Bence 4-6, Marlow 2-7, Callison 1-1, Havener 1-4, Snodgrass 0-3).
Records: Notre Dame 2-0 overall (1-0 SEI Superconference South Division), West Burlington 0-1 (0-1).
Matt Levins is a sports reporter for the USA Today Network in Burlington, Iowa, who has covered local sports for 32 years at The Hawk Eye. Reach him at mlevins@thehawkeye.com.
This article originally appeared on The Hawk Eye: Notre Dame gets an emotional lift in win over West Burlington
