PLEASANTON — Marmaton Valley High’s basketball teams were in Pleasanton for makeup games Thursday. It worked out well for the Wildcat girls but not so well for the boys .
A quick start provided more than enough margin for the Wildcat girls as they struggled in the second half.
Marmaton Valley jumped out to an early 12-2 lead over host Pleasanton High. The Wildcats struggled on offense, and then defense, in the second half, but still came away with a 40-29 win.
“As a coach, you’re never satisfied, but a win’s a win,” Wildcat head coach Kent Houk said.
Marmaton Valley upped its lead to 24-10 before stalling on offense in the third quarter.
“We missed a lot of easy shots,” Houk said. “I counted probably 10 missed shots in the lane.”
Both teams scored only four points in the third period. Pleasanton caught fire on offense in the final quarter. The Blu-Jays had only 14 points up the then before scoring 15 in the fourth quarter alone.
But Marmaton Valley was able to maintain its advantage with sterling free throw shooting.
“We’d been averaging 40 to 50 percent from the line,” Houk said. “Tonight we shot 71 percent (10 of 14), a definite bright spot.”
Alysha Westhoff led the Wildcats with 13 points and six steals. Maggie Meiwes chipped in with seven points and 10 rebounds. Morgan Henry and Cheyanne Miller also scored seven. Kailey Boyd had four assists.
Johnnea Saulsberry led Pleasanton with nine points. Brytnee Streeter scored eight.
The win came at a good time for the Wildcat girls. On Tuesday at Lebo, they lost 64-22 to the Lebo High Wolves. The Wolves were up 40-9 at halftime.
Alysha Westhoff fired in 13 points for Marmaton Valley. Maggie Meiwes had five points. Kailey Boyd and Cheyanne Miller each had two points.
THE WILDCAT BOYS weren’t able to hold on to a four-point lead down the stretch in regulation. They had switched it up on the Blu-Jays, who had led 26-23 at halftime, to take 40-36 lead after three quarters of play.
Pleasanton outscored Marmaton Valley 9-5 in the final eight minutes to forge a 45-45 tie at the final buzzer. In the four-minute overtime, The Blu-Jays got one more point than the Wildcats, 8-7, to win 53-52.
“It all boiled down to free throws,” said Denny Lasley, MVHS boys’ head coach.
