Varsity girls basketball underway

Eight area teams are now one step closer to playing in the regular season.

Fairfield traveled Tuesday to the Pekin Jamboree to face Cardinal High School. The Trojans won the two quarter long scrimmage by the score of 20-14. Coach Mick Flattery was pleased with the amount of assists and free throw attempts that his team managed.

Hanna Greiner scored five points to go along with her four rebounds and two steals. Samantha Fritz also had five points. Fritz also recorded four steals and two rebounds. Marisa Repp, Mackenzie Flattery and Mikaela Lunsford put points on the board as well.

Fairfield scrimmaged Saturday at Cedar Rapids Kennedy as well.

Pekin faced off against Moravia, Twin Cedars played Davis County, and Van Buren played Keota. The Warriors lost to Keota 22-20.

?They?re a good team,? Van Buren head coach Matt Zeitler said about Keota. ?I doubt they lose more than six games in 1A this year. We played them tough.?

Van Buren fell behind 10-0 to start the game before roaring back. It came down to one last shot attempt. The Warriors drained a three-point shot to win the game, but it was released a half-second too late.

Pekin Pride Scrimmage

Fairfield and Pekin are participating in the Iowa Hall of Pride?s community service initiative, the ?Iowa Hall of Pride Challenge.? The girls basketball teams will be hosting a ?Pride Scrimmage? on Saturday, Nov. 23 at 6 p.m. at Pekin High School. The JV teams will scrimmage first with a varsity scrimmage to follow.

As part of the Pride Challenge, all participating schools have identified a community service project that is meaningful for their school and community. The Fairfield girls teamed up with the Trojan Athletic Boosters to serve a community dinner with keynote speaker Aaron Thomas on Friday. The dinner served as a fundraiser for the ?Bill Strawhacker Challenge? which states that if the boosters can fundraise an additional $25,000 then the Bill Strawhacker Estate will have a matching $25,000 donation.

The Pekin girls have chosen to team up with the PMA/REACH group to collect food and clothing donations for families in the Pekin area in need of assistance during the holiday season. Pekin is asking for parents and fans from both schools to help out by making monetary, canned good, paper product and/or laundry item donations.

The admission cost for the game will be $2 for everyone. No activity passes or conference passes will be accepted. Donation boxes will be present at the admission gates.

Many schools already incorporate community service as an extension of learning in the classroom. The Pride Challenge is highlighted by ?Pride Scrimmages,? where participating schools are permitted to use one of their three allotted basketball scrimmages to play a live game under all normal game conditions, although the game does not count on the team?s records.

A complete rundown of Pride Challenge information is available online at www.iowahallofpride.com.

Proceeds from the Pride Scrimmage will go to the PMA/REACH program, less a $250 contribution to the Richard Jacobson Education Fund at the Iowa Hall of Pride. Those contributions will be used to further the Hall of Pride?s mission to ?educate the future? through their educational programs and work with students and schools across the state.

The Iowa Hall of Pride opened to the public on Feb. 23, 2005, in Des Moines. The museum features dozens of exhibits that engage the visitor in experiencing the stories of Iowa?s communities and their heroes. There is a strong emphasis on education and how it has helped shape the people of Iowa.