MV stays in division title hunt

Girls basketball

     Maquoketa Valley stayed in the Tri-Rivers Conference, West Division hunt with a pair of recent wins, leaving it one game behind North Linn for the division lead.

     The Wildcats (8-1, 13-2) scored a 63-24 win at Edgewood-Colesburg Jan. 11, as Sam Wall had 24 points and Emerson Whittenbaugh added 16. Brooke Wilson scored eight points. MV had 20 steals, led by Taya Tucker with five, Maddy Anderegg and Ella Imler with four apiece, and Wall with three.

     On Jan. 15, the Wildcats played host to East Buchanan, and picked up a 64-53 win as Wall scored a season-high 34 points. A key to the victory was a 19-9 second quarter edge that gave MV a 33-23 halftime lead.

     “East Buchanan is a much-improved team,” Maquoketa Valley coach Scot Moenck said. “This was a very tough game in a tournament-like atmosphere.

     “Our kids really dialed it in. Our fours and fives were very tough on the boards all night and did an outstanding job of finishing around the bucket. We’re doing a lot of nice things, which is very nice to see.”

     Whittenbaugh had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Imler had five assists, and Wilson made three steals.

Wrestling

     Maquoketa Valley collided with a pair of strong opponents in a double dual wrestling meet Jan. 17 at Lisbon.

     The Wildcats lost 58-24 to East Buchanan, and 68-8 to Lisbon.

     Winning for MV against East Buchanan were Parker Sternhagen by pin at 145 pounds, and forfeit wins for Carter Kruse, Anthony March and Michael Schaul. Dylan Happel won by forfeit against Lisbon.

     “These were some tough meets for us as a team,” Maquoketa Valley coach Tim Andrews said. “We need to take these meets, learn from them and use them as motivation as we head into the conference tournament (Jan. 26) when we see these teams again.”

Boys basketball

     Maquoketa Valley maintained a winning season record despite a pair of recent Tri-Rivers Conference losses.

     The Wildcats (3-5, 7-6) traveled to Edgewood-Colesburg Jan. 11 and were handed a 71-24 defeat. A.J. Ambundo led MV with six points, and Blake Becker had five. Rebounding leaders were Brian Heims with eight and Andrew Holtz with six.

     On Jan. 15, MV lost a home heartbreaker in overtime against East Buchanan, 63-62. Three Wildcats scored in double figures: Ambundo with 19, Owen Mensen and Heims with 15 apiece. Heims also grabbed 10 rebounds to complete a double-double. Holtz had 10 assists and six points.