By Sam Parsons
The Oskaloosa Indians girls and boys basketball teams traveled to Indianola on Tuesday night for their 2nd matchups of the season against the Indians, and they were swept for the second time.
Girls Game
Indianola’s girls entered Tuesday night’s action as the 12th ranked team in the state in class 5A, and they were winners of 5 straight games. Osky, on the other hand, was in the midst of a 6-game skid that began when they returned from winter break.
Unfortunately, the offensive struggles that have plagued Oskaloosa in recent games continued against Indianola. Osky fell behind 14-2 by the conclusion of the 1st quarter, and the score was 25-6 at halftime in favor of Indianola. In the second half, the home Indians were able to cruise to an easy 52-22 victory in which there was a running clock for much of the 4th quarter.
Naomi Cole was the top scorer for Oskaloosa with 7 points. The loss to Indianola set Oskaloosa back to 3-12 on the season with an 0-8 record in the Little Hawkeye Conference.
Boys Game
Both Oskaloosa and Indianola were shorthanded going into Tuesday’s nightcap, missing one starter apiece. On top of that, both squads were having a hard time stringing together wins in recent games: Indianola had started this season 4-0, but had lost 5 of their previous 7 games, while Oskaloosa had started the season with an 8-2 record, but had lost 3 of their previous 4 games.
Indianola was the team that showed up on Tuesday night with a heightened sense of purpose. Playing without their top scorer in junior George Blake, they leaned on their defense, which severely limited Oskaloosa’s offensive attack.
Oskaloosa’s offense was out of rhythm for the entire game. They did not score more than 9 points in any quarter, finishing the first half with just 12 points on the board. Osky was unable to generate transition opportunities as well as Indianola, and their half court offense was not operating with its usual efficiency. In the end, Oskaloosa only managed to score 28 points in the game.
Osky’s defense was able to keep them within shouting distance for most of the game, but Indianola pulled away late and led by double digits for most of the 4th quarter, ultimately finishing the game with a 41-28 win over Osky.
Oskaloosa was led by Tommy North, who managed 15 points on the night. Oskaloosa’s record dipped to 9-6 with the loss (3-5 in conference play), and they will look to get back on track on Friday night at home versus Dallas Center-Grimes. Coverage of Friday night’s doubleheader will begin at approximately 5:45pm on KBOE 104.9 FM and kboeradio.com.
