MORAN — Marmaton Valley Junior High’s basketball teams gave the home crowd little reason to fret Thursday evening. THE WILDCAT girls opened the A team contest with a 15-2 run and never looked back.
The Wildcats coasted to victory in all four contests against visiting Pleasanton, with the smallest margin of victory 13 points.
The Wildcat boys won the A team contest 29-16 and the B team affair 31-8.
Meanwhile, Marmaton Valley’s girls won the A team game 40-18 and the B team contest 35-11.
Both coaches were effusive in their praise of Wildcat squads.
The A team boys jumped out to an 8-2 lead and rolled from there.
“The boys really picked up their intensity tonight,” Wildcat coach Scott Brady said. “They were a lot more physical tonight than they have been so far this season.”
Jake Kale was particularly dominant with eight points, 15 rebounds, four assists and eight steals. “On top of that, he did all of those little things that don’t show up on a stat sheet. As a coach, you love to see that.”
Trevor Wilson led the Wildcats with 12 points. Justice Pugh added six points, Korbin Smith scored two and Derek Nixon one.
The boys B team game was decided by Marmaton Valley’s ability to get the ball inside, Brady said.
“The boys played really tough D the whole game,” he said.
Kiefer Endicott scored 12 points, followed by Brock Hall with six, Nixon with four, Tristan Fraker with three and Will Holeman, Tony Jefferis and Ethan Tavarez with two each.
“We are doing a better job in our transition game,” coach Kim Ensminger said. “We are seeing people open and passing the ball up court for easy scoring opportunities.”
Kyla Drake’s hot shooting touch resulted in 13 points. She was followed by Trinitee Gutierrez with eight, Misty Storrer with seven, Nalea Alexander with three and Brooklynn Newman and Magie Stevenson with two apiece.
A 15-0 run in the second quarter put the girls B team up 23-4.
“We are running our offense better all the time,” Ensminger said. “The girls are understanding where to look and pass for open players. They are starting to pass the ball up-court in transition and reaping the rewards with easy points.”
Gutierrez led the way with 16 points. Clara Boyd scored five. Shayla Brooks and Megan Ensminger scored four apiece. Makayla Brooks and Kaitlyn Knavel each scored two.
Wildcat squads sweep
