A new chapter began Tuesday evening for the West Prairie/Southeastern co-op high school girls basketball program.
The visiting Cyclones controlled the opening three quarters against host Rushville- Industry on the way to notching a 54-45 non-conference victory.
“It’s been a long time since West Prairie’s started 1-0,” said WP/SE coach Grant Bland. “And I’m so proud of them for it.”
So just how long has it been? The last season-opening win for the Cyclones was 2010, when they beat Macomb 39-36.
Tuesday’s victory was also a measure of progress for the team from a season ago.
Back on Jan. 15 at Colchester, the Rockets flew past the Cyclones 57-26.
“We had to learn to win a little bit,” said Bland. “This was a team that beat us by 31 last year. For us to come into their place, we knew it was going to be tough.”
“Props to West Prairie and that program,” said RIHS coach Aaron McDonald. “They’ve really been turning that around.”
Senior guard Madelynn Sullivan provided an early offensive spark for the Cyclones.
She scored eight of the team’s final 10 points in the opening period, including a pair of threes, that helped WP/SE grab a 15-10 lead.
Both teams dealt with foul trouble in the second quarter, but junior Kara Stephens and freshman Alyvia Barkley combined for 10 of the team’s 14 points.
The Cyclones closed the half with an 8-2 run that upped their advantage to 29-16 at halftime.
Sophomore Payton McGrew made her presence felt in the third quarter, breaking loose for 11 of the team’s 16 points.
RIHS got as close as 33-26 following a Tavia Mitchelle basket at the 3:44 mark. But the Rockets did not score the rest of the period as WP/SE scored the final 12 points.
Sullivan’s third three-pointer of the game started the run that also included seven points from McGrew and a basket by Stephens.
That run allowed the Cyclones to build their biggest lead of the game at 45-26 entering the final eight minutes.
RIHS scored 19 points in the final stanza, but got no closer than the final score.
“We knew this game was going to be messy, especially the first one,” said Bland. “We had some big-time players step up and make some plays.”
The Cyclones had four players reach double figures in scoring.
McGrew led the way with 17 points, while Sullivan added 13 points, 10 in the opening half.
Stephens added 11 and Barkley 10 for the victors.
Madison McClure closed out the scoring with a three-pointer, that coming in the fourth quarter.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had that in a game before coaching,” said Bland of four players scoring in double digits. “It was nice to see everybody contributing, everybody doing their jobs.”
Junior forward Devin Vogler topped RIHS (0-2) with 23 points, 15 in the second half.
“Vogler is an insanely good player,” said Bland. “We knew coming into this that she was going to give us fits, and she did.”
“But it was nice to see that we kept our composure,” he added. “We sped up a little bit, but it’s going to be something where we just need to learn to win games like that.”
Becca Lewis added eight for the Rockets, followed by Kate Stambaugh with six.
Tessa Parton tallied four points, while Mitchelle and Taylor Boyd chipped in two points apiece.
The Cyclones were set to welcome Brimfield for a varsity only contest Thursday before heading to Mt. Sterling Saturday for the opening day of the Lady Hornet Classic.
The Cyclones are slated to face Liberty and West Hancock.
“I hope this keeps that positive momentum going as we keep going through the rest of this week,” said Bland. “The next three teams are tough.”
The JV contest saw WP/SE race out to a 16-3 advantage after the opening quarter on the way to a 41-14 victory.
The Cyclones were winless last season at the JV level.
“It was awesome to see the JV do the same thing (as the varsity),” said Bland.
WP/SE led 27-9 at halftime and 41-11 heading into the final period.
McGrew and Josie Hodges topped WP/SE with 12 and 10 points respectively.
Barkley was next with eight points, followed by Ashlynn Kelley with five points.
Braelyn Reeves added four points and Addy Stanberry two for the Cyclones.
Brooklyn Robinson and Parton topped RIHS with four points each.
Karissa Harrison added three, Boyd two and Miley Miller one for the Rockets.
