March 01, 2008 01:37 am
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CLINTON — The Prince of Peace basketball teams took a pair of wins from Big East Conference rival, the Midland Eagles as the girls won a thriller 55-51 while the boys had little trouble as they made it a sweep with a 72-50 decision.
The games were originally scheduled back in January and then rescheduled in February but both times had to be canceled because of snow storms.
But as far as the teams and the Irish fans are concerned it was well worth the wait to see that they both finished in the top spot of their leagues.
With the win for the Irish girls they improved their record to 12-0 to become the conference champions and an overall record of 20-2.
With the win for the Irish boys they improved their record to 11-1 to become the conference co-champions with the Preston Trojans and finish with an overall record of 19-3.
In the girls game both teams got off to a great start and the game was tied three times in the first four minutes.
Scoring for the Irish early in the game was Brooke Craig (11 points), with a jumper followed by Megan Lehmkuhl (nine points) with two baskets, one was a 3-point play to give them the lead 7-4 in the first four minutes.
The Eagles came back to tie the game at 7-all with 4:17 showing on the clock.
The Irish answered with a 9-2 run to go on top 16-9 with just over two minutes left in the first period.
Scoring for the Irish in this drive was Kylee Hyde (12 points) as she hit three field goals, one was a 3-point play and a couple of free throws from Lauren Ryan (team high 13 points). The Irish got a basket each from Colleen Ryan and Lehmkuhl to lead at the end of the first quarter by just five points 21-16.
The teams exchanged baskets in the second period as the Irish had seven points while the Eagles had six points to lead 28-22 at halftime.
It was almost a repeat in the third quarter as the Eagles outscored the Irish 13-12 to cut the margin back to five points heading into the final frame with the Irish on top 40-35.
The Eagles came out strong in the fourth quarter with a 10-4 run to cut the margin to just one point 46-45 with 3:20 on the clock.
A couple of key baskets, one by Katie Isenhour and a 3-pointer from Lauren Ryan gave the Irish a four point lead 51-47 and then closed out the scoring with a pair of free throws from Craig and Hyde to hold on for the win and championship.
Midland finished the season with a 15-7 overall record and was 9-3 in conference and had two players in double figures, paced by Aubrey Walters with game high 20 points and Shasta Eganhouse with 10.
“It was an exciting game tonight as we came out looking good in the first quarter and then finishing with a 12-0 record in the conference is something that the girls will remember the rest of their life. Midland played us a good game and our only senior Lauren Ryan did a good job leading the team during the entire season and my hat goes off to all the girls on a really good season and especially it was great to get the win tonight,” said Prince of Peace coach David Nelson.
Boys Game
The Irish started their four seniors and they came out strong in the first quarter and jumped out to an early 8-2 lead as Dan Schnier (13 points) hit a couple of baskets and two free throws.
The team played real tough on defense as they held the Eagles to just four field goals and two free throws in the opening period to go on top 22-10.
The second quarter the teams exchanged baskets as the Irish outscored the Eagles 13-11 to take the lead at halftime by 14 points 35-21.
The Irish had a big third period as they came up with 28 points as they hit 11 field goals. They had a couple of good runs. Drew Sikkema hit a pair of 3-pointers, two field goals by Ben Lehmkuhl, one was a 3-pointer, two baskets from Sean Mulholland (team high 14 points) and John Nelson (10 points) with a pair of baskets, one was a trey.
They increased their lead to 27 points 63-36 heading into the final frame.
All 14 players got into the game and contributed for the win with several players in the scoring column.
The Eagles outscored the Irish in the final quarter 14-9 but never could catch up as they closed out their season with a 3-9 record.
They had two players in double figures, paced by Mark Petersen with 14 points and Zach Bonney with a 12.
The Irish finished the season with a 19-3 overall record and were co-champions of the Big East Conference with the Preston Trojans at 11-1. They had three players in double figures, Mulholland with 14, Dan Schnier 13 and John Nelson with 10 points.
“I feel great tonight as it was a good feeling to win this one as the kids played hard all year and it was a fun night for all the seniors as they got to play on their home floor and it was good way to end the season with a 19-3 record and co-champions of the our league. I was happy that I got to play all 14 kids and everyone contributed to the win,” said Prince of Peace coach Gerry Murphy.
GIRLS GAME
Score by Quarters
Midland 16 6 13 16 — 51
Prince of Peace 21 7 12 15 — 55
Scoring
MIDLAND (51)
Bisinger 1 0-2 2, C. Paulsen 0 0-0 0, P. Paulsen 1 0-0 2, Eganhouse 4 0-0 10, Jeffery 0 0-2 0, Lineburg 2 1-3 5, Kouba 0 0-0 0, Walters 9 1-2 20, Burmeiser 2 0-0 4, K. Leonard 3 0-0 6, S. Leonard 1 0-1 2. Totals 23 2-10 51.
PRINCE OF PEACE (55)
Colleen Ryan 2 0-0 4, Megan Lehmkuhl 4 1-4 9, Brooke Craig 4 2-2 11, Kylee Hyde 4 4-5 12, Jill Crigger 0 0-0 0, Katie Isenhour 3 0-1 6, Lauren Ryan 4 4-5 13. Totals 21 11-17 55.
3-point goals—Midland 3 (Eganhouse 2, Walters); POP 2 (Craig, L. Ryan). Total fouls—Midland 19, POP 12. Fouled out—Midland (K. Leonard).
Records—Midland 15-7, 9-3 Big East Conference; Prince of Peace 20-2, 12-0.
BOYS GAME
Score by Quarters
Midland 10 11 15 14 — 50
Prince of Peace 22 13 18 9 — 72
Scoring
MIDLAND (50)
Zach Bonney 5 2-4 12, Cody Dirks 1 2-2 4, Kolby Harms 1 0-0 2, Jason Vacek 1 0-0 2, Mark Petersen 6 02-14, Jordan Oberbreckling 1 1-3 3, Cory Vacek 0 0-0 0, Jarred Stepp 3 1-1 7, Mitch Boots 0 2-2 2, Ryan Dunne 0 0-0 0, Jon Hansen 0 0-0 0, Alex Reid 2 0-0 4. Totals 19 8-12 50.
PRINCE OF PEACE (72)
Ben Carr 3 0-0 6, Sean Jankowski 0 1-2 1, Dan Schnier 5 3-3 13, Ben Lehmkuhl 2 0-0 5, Drew Sikkema 2 2-2 8, Andy Schnier 1 0-2 2, Jared Jones 1 2-4 4, Sean Mulholland 7 0-0 14, John Nelson 41-1 10, Jacob Crigger 0 0-0 0, Eric Sikkema 0 1-2 1, Joe Vens 1 0-0 2, James Nelson 2 0-0 4. Totals 28 10-14 72.
3-point goals—Midland 2 (Petersen 2); POP 4 (D. Sikkema 2, Lehmkuhl, John Nelson). Total fouls—Midland 10, POP 18. Fouled out—POP (Jones).
Records—Prince of Peace 19-3, 11-1 Big East Conference.
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