(Greenfield) Izzy Eisbach’s 3-pointer right before the 3rd quarter buzzer put Nodaway Valley in front of Mount Ayr 36-35 and the Wolverines led the rest of the night. A 50-44 home win gives them a piece of the Pride of Iowa Conference championship for the 3rd time in four years.
Eisbach finished with 18 points while Lindsey Davis scored 15. Nodaway Valley started the 4th quarter on an 8-2 stretch to lead 44-37 and held off a late push from Mount Ayr. The Raiderettes closed within three at 44-41, but Eisbach and Davis combined to go 6/6 at the line in the 2nd half. Nodaway Valley pushed the lead to 48-44 and had the ball with :36 left. They were able to dribble out much of the remaining clock. Two free-throws with one second left made it a 50-44 final.
Both offenses were slow to start. Mount Ayr had an early 4-3 lead, but went cold. There were just 13 total points in the opening quarter. Nodaway Valley scored nine straight to grab a 12-4 lead. They briefly led by double figures at 16-6, but Mount Ayr scored seven quick points to close within three. In fact, the visitors used a 19-6 finish to the first half to sneak into the locker room with a 25-24 lead.
Mount Ayr led for all but three seconds of the 3rd quarter. Breya Nickle and Tabatha Henle combined to hit 9/10 free-throws in the 2nd half which kept them in the game. Henle led the Raiderettes with 14 points on the night and Nickle scored 12. Mount Ayr led by five on a couple of occasions in the 3rd quarter, but Nodaway Valley scored five straight points at the end of the frame to take the lead for good.
Nodaway Valley wins their 7th straight and improves to 16-4 overall and 12-0 in the Pride of Iowa. They have just one conference game remaining. If they win at Lenox on Friday they’ll run the table in the league and clinch the outright conference title. Martensdale-St. Marys is one game back at 11-1. Mount Ayr, which entered the week at 14-3, loses for a second straight night in game that came down to the wire. They’ll take a 14-5 overall record into their matchup with Bedford on Friday.
