By Milla Butler
The Lady Mustang basketball team’s first week of games consisted of the Red Cloud Warriors and the Deshler Dragons. Taking on the Warriors, the Mustangs came out ready to play against their first competitor. Head Coach Kate Sinsel comments on her thoughts going into the season’s first game: “I knew that Red Cloud was going to be a disciplined team as always and that they would have some good shooters on the perimeter.” Sinsel stated that the team discussed both playing aggressive and disciplined defense prior to the game. The game’s first quarter set the tone for the match, ending 11-9 in the Mustangs’ favor. The Mustangs kept their momentum up for the second and third quarters, the two ending 25-17 and 42-28. Both teams put eight more points on the board in the fourth quarter, ending the game 50-36- a Mustang win.
Leading the team in points were senior Emma Schmidt with twelve, junior Makenna Karr with eleven, and senior Katy Soucek with ten. Schmidt also acquired the most three-pointers for the team, gaining four. Another main contributor on offense was Soucek, with three offensive rebounds. The team’s defensive leader against the Warriors was Karr, who obtained eight defensive rebounds. Soucek led the team’s offensive rebounds, acquiring three. Speaking on the team’s first win, Sinsel says, “I thought our half-court defense was one of the aspects that kept us in the game. I felt like we had some good match-ups on offense that worked in our favor, and I thought the girls did a great job of finding those match-ups throughout the game, which allowed us to have multiple players score in double-digit figures. I also applaud our girls for playing a very unselfish game. They found open players in each possession to give us the best team shot possible.”
Challenging the Dragons for their second game, the Mustangs were hoping to continue their first week of games with a winning record. Karr was the overall team leader for the Mustangs. The junior put twenty points on the board against the Dragons, contributing the highest amount of points from the Mustangs. She also led in defensive rebounds, acquiring seven on her own. Tying with junior Sophie Schmidt, the pair contributed two offensive rebounds each. Sinsel summarizes the game, sharing her perspective on the win against the Dragons. “Going on the road against two traditionally well-disciplined Twin Valley Conference opponents to open up our season is not an easy task. I knew fatigue would play a role in the game, and I did feel like we started the game a little slower than normal. However, we got some energy on defense, which led to offensive success. Once we got moving a little bit, our team did a good job of attacking the basket when we were struggling with outside looks. One thing about our team is on any given night we have girls who can step up as offensive threats. When we had girls in foul trouble both nights, the rest of the team stepped up and filled roles. Against Deshler, MaKenna Karr was a player who really stepped up and knocked down shots when we needed them.”