The West Central Trojan girls and boys basketball teams played a double-header at Mt Vernon against the Mt Vernon/Plankinton Titans on Tuesday, December 15th. The girls team beat the Titans 57-45, while the boys team was also victorious, 69-55.
The West Central girls got out to a quick start in the first quarter building a 17-9 lead at the quarter break. That lead would carry throughout the entire game for the Trojans. Mt Vernon/Plankinton cut the lead down to 31-22 at halftime, and then down to 46-39 by the end of the third quarter, but every time the Titans made a run, the Trojans had an answer. West Central was able to add to the lead in the fourth quarter for the win.
The Trojans finished the game shooting 42% (21-50) from the field, 32% (8-25) from three-point area, and 58% (7-12) from the free-throw line. West Central also forced 17 Titan turnovers on 13 steals.
Two players finished in double figures. Addy Kramer had 22 points along with nine rebounds. Cassidy Siemonsma added 14 points and seven rebounds. Josslin Jarding finished with five points, five rebounds, and three assists. Rylee Haldeman had the hot defensive had with four steals.
The West Central boys were able to battle through a rough first half. After starting the game on a 5-0 run, the Trojans were called for 10 team fouls by the 2:49 mark of the first quarter. Mt Vernon/Plankinton took advantage of the situation and outscored West Central 15-4 after the early run for a 15-9 first quarter lead. The Trojans were able to avoid major foul trouble in the second quarter and battled back to tie the game 25-25 by halftime.
With the team fouls reset at halftime, the Trojan defense was able to be more aggressive in the second half, and they completely shut down the the Titan offense in the third quarter. West Central outscored the Titans 24-9 for a 49-34 lead heading into the final quarter. The Titans were able to pull within six points at 61-55 with 1:45 left in the game, but West Central ended the contest on an 8-0 run to secure the win.
West Central was 50% (29-58) from the field, 17% (2-12) from three-point area, and 45% (9-20) from the free-throw line. The defensive pressure forced 21 Titan turnovers on 16 steals.
Three players finished in double figures. Zane Crawford had 20 points. Kasan Abedi finished with 16 points, seven assists, six rebounds, and four steals. Jaxon Skinner added 10 points and eight rebounds. Derek Eidsness had nine points, five steals, four rebounds, and three assists.
The West Central girls (2-0) and boys (1-2) will host Winner on Friday, December 18th in a double-header.
