REBEL GIRLS CELEBRATE CLOSE WIN OVER WWG

The Murray County Central Rebel Girls Basketball team was on the road for the third time in four games this season on Friday night. The Rebels made the trip to Westbrook to take on their toughest game of the season. The Chargers were 2 and 1 heading into the game, but their only loss was to state ranked MACCRAY. This would be a closely played game throughout, but the Rebels did something they have not done since 2009-2010.

This was a competitive matchup that went back and forth. It was a tough defensive battle that came down to rebounding and key shots. The Rebels led early in the game, but never by more than four points. The Rebels made 8 of 10 free throws in the first half that helped them keep the game close. Ava Deacon led the Rebels with 20 points, while the Chargers were led by Hadley Jenniges and Leah Vandewiele who scored 6 points each. It was back and forth and at the half the Chargers led 21 to 20.

The offense would pick up in the second half. The Chargers were able to get the ball to their top scorer, Leah Carter, who scored 11 points in the second half and Hadley Jenniges who scored 9 points in the final 18 minutes. The rest of the Chargers scored 10 points combined. The Rebels were led by Ava Deacon who scored 14 points in the second half. The Rebels would lead by as many as 6 and trail by as many as 8. The game changed when the three point shots began to fall. Kat Miller made the first, then Ava Deacon and Mikayla Reith made 2 and Reese Gilbertson added another. The outside shots opened up some driving lanes by stretching out the Chargers 1-3-1 zone defense. The Rebels would take the lead in the final two minutes and they held on to the very end, pulling off a 54 to 51 win.

Things that stood out in this game were easily overlooked in a game like this. The Rebels forced the Chargers into 25 turnovers while commiting 20 themselves, but in a close game, 5 extra turnovers made a difference. MCC outrebounded WWG 27 to 20 and had 10 offensive rebounds. Those two key stats helped the Rebels get to the free throw line 25 times compared to the Chargers 4. MCC was driving and slashing to the basket. The Chargers were shooting a lot of jump shots. Ava Deacon led the Rebels with 21 points, Mikayla Reith had a career high 8. Kat Miller scored 7, all in the second

half, as the Rebels picked up the win. Hadley Jenniges had 15 points and Leah Carter scored 14 and had 5 rebounds. The Rebels are 4-0 for the first time since 2009-2010. They will play at Pipestone on Monday and at home against Edgerton Public on Thursday.