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Washington Evening Journal
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VBC girls move on
Van Buren County survives Columbus in Class 2A Region 8 opener
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
KEOSAUQUA — The third time was not a charm for the Columbus girls basketball team on Saturday night in Keosauqua. Instead, it was another victory by the now 15-win Van Buren County Warriors.
VBC once again escaped a battle with the Wildcats, pulling away late to earn a 58-45 victory.
It was the Warriors’ second win in a row over the Wildcats after defeating Columbus in the Southeast Iowa Super Conference shootout, and a big win for the VBC seniors, who were likely playing on their home court for the last time.
“They put a lot of time for us,” said VBC head coach Randy Smith. “And they put a lot of baskets in the hole for us, that’s for sure.”
It was once again star freshman Adalyn Snowgren who led the Warriors to victory, scoring 20 points, but seniors Marlee Mertes and Sophia Jirak provided plenty of firepower, combining for seven 3-pointers.
Jirak was VBC’s second-leading scorer with 13 points on the night, which included three makes from outside. Mertens hit four 3-pointers in the first three quarters of play to finish with 12.
“I didn’t start off too well at the beginning of the season, but I definitely got better later on,” said Mertens after the game. “It definitely feels better.”
Elli Daugherty scored six points for VBC. Daphny Wells ended the night with five points and 12 rebounds, and Aubrey Loeffler finished with two points.
Columbus had three double digit scorers in the loss. Isabel Rendon finished with 13 to lead the Wildcats. Iris Garza and Ellie Sanders each scored 10. Kinlee Brown scored eight. Kennedy Wopeking finished with four, and Naveiah Garza led the team with seven rebounds.
“The effort has been there all year long,” said Columbus head coach Kasey Keltner. “Last time we played them, it got out of hand, and it didn’t happen tonight. I thought we made adjustments, and here and there we had a shot where we could have taken the lead, and stuff like that.”
Columbus finished 11-11, which closed out the best three-year stretch in the program’s history. VBC (15-7) earned a chance to try and knock off the second seed in the region, Regina Catholic (16-5) on Tuesday night.
