By Sam Parsons
The Oskaloosa Indians were home on Friday night for a Little Hawkeye Conference doubleheader against the Indianola Indians and were swept for the first time this season. Indianola’s girls were victorious in the opener 39-23, and their boys won the nightcap 52-45.
Girls Game
Oskaloosa’s girls played the first game of the doubleheader shorthanded. Junior guard Naomi Cole, one of the team’s leading overall contributors, was out with an illness. Playing against a 5A team that was 3-1 entering play, it was never going to be an easy matchup.
However, Osky went toe-to-toe with Indianola for the majority of the game. A tough 2-3 zone defense from Osky limited Indianola’s offense to only 28 points in the first 3 1/2 quarters. Oskaloosa head coach TC Cunningham praised the communication on that end of the floor.
“I liked that [we] were starting to talk,” said Cunningham after the game. “At first we were quiet, and then we started to talk about where the shooters were at, or who wasn’t a shooter.”
Without Naomi Cole in the fold, Oskaloosa’s offense endured periods of struggle, but nevertheless, both sophomores Porah Cole (11) and Dassah Cole (10) put up double digit points. Still, it wasn’t enough in the end. Indianola led 28-23 midway through the fourth quarter when they got rolling, finishing the game on an 11-0 run to make the final score 39-23.
Despite the loss, coach Cunningham was encouraged by the effort led by the shorthanded Indians against their 5A opponent.
“I’m proud of the way the girls who came in played. They knew the game plan, they stuck with it, and they battled.”
Oskaloosa is now 2-3 on the season and they will travel to Burlington on Tuesday night.
Boys Game
Both Oskaloosa and Indianola entered the second game of Friday night’s doubleheader as undefeated teams. Only one would leave that way, and the stakes were palpable.
Osky and Indy traded baskets at a fairly even rate throughout the game and it was not a contest that was controlled by either team for any significant stretch until the end. Oskaloosa held a 2 point lead (11-9) at the end of the first quarter, but fell behind by 3 points by halftime. After each team scored 12 points in the 3rd quarter, it remained a 3-point margin entering the fourth quarter.
Both teams attacked the basket frequently, which led to a healthy amount of free throws by both teams. Unfortunately for Oskaloosa, their success at the charity stripe paled in comparison to Indianola’s: Osky shot just 50% (9/18) from the line, while Indianola shot 78.3% (18/23).
Indianola worked hard to get their transition offense going, but after their first handful of transition baskets, Oskaloosa was able to adjust and prevent Indy from getting easy looks on fast breaks. Osky’s defense played a strong game in general when they were not committing fouls, holding Indy to just a 36.6% shooting percentage from the floor and generating 12 turnovers.
On the other end of the floor, Oskaloosa’s offense endured a cold night of shooting (aside from their aforementioned free throw woes, the Indians shot just 27.8% from the field and 25% from 3 point range) that got frigid in crunch time. In the 4th quarter, the game was tied, but Indianola finished on a scoring run that was primarily the result of missed shots by Oskaloosa. Ultimately, the final score of the game was 52-45, but the game was closer than the score indicated.
Oskaloosa (3-1) will host Washington on Tuesday night for their next game. Coverage will be live on KBOE 104.9 FM and kboeradio.com starting at around 7:15pm.
