By Tony Boone, Senior Writer
nonpareilonline.com
They’re young. And, yes, they make a lot of mistakes.
But while the Iowa Western women learn on the job, they’re winning basketball games.
Tuesday night was no different. The Reivers turned the ball over too much, shot poorly at times and made a few silly fouls, yet they still beat Ellsworth 81-63 at Kanesville Arena to improve to 4-0 on the season.
“The schedule’s worked out really well,” IWCC coach Jim Turgeon said. “We’ve been able to play a lot of players, make a lot of mistakes and still win games. We know that we’re nowhere near where we need to be to beat our region teams. But the experience our freshmen is getting right now is invaluable.”
Iowa Western opened the game by scoring 13 consecutive points, and its lead was never under 10 the rest of the way. Sophomore Amber Peterson hit a pair of three-pointers during the decisive run, which began with a steal and layup by Tempestt Wilson and ended with her driving basket in traffic.
The freshman from Elk River, Minn., had a big first half. She scored 16 of her game-high 23 points before intermission, including eight in a row for Iowa Western at one point.
That stretch ended with Wilson putting back a Marina Fox miss for the first of five consecutive second-chance baskets for the Reivers. IWCC had 27 offensive rebounds in the game, 16 of which turned into points.
“Usually, (Coach Turgeon) likes to have me down there rebounding,” said Wilson, a 5-foot-10 guard who grabbed six of her nine boards on the offensive end. “If I’m down there, I’ll get those rebounds and just put them right back up.”
Wilson had three putbacks in the first half alone. And Fox grabbed eight of her 11 caroms on the offensive end, seven of which led to points. The 6-3 freshman finished the game with 12 points and 11 rebounds while helping Iowa Western to a 56-25 advantage on the glass.
Ellsworth, which fell to 0-4, didn’t have a player taller than 5-10 and struggled because of its lack of size. The Panthers had only two more defensive rebounds in the game than IWCC had offensive ones, which allowed the Reivers to get 24 more field-goal attempts in the game than their opponent.
“Let’s face it. We’re bigger and stronger than them, we should outrebound them,” Turgeon said.
While Iowa Western was making its surge to open the game, Ellsworth managed only one field goal in the first nine minutes of play. But the Panthers opened the second half strong and pulled within 17 on a few occasions while the Reivers were struggling through a 5-of-22 stretch from the field.
IWCC eventually streched its lead to 27 before settling for an 18-point win on Turgeon’s birthday. The Reiver coach said it was the fourth time he’s had a team play on that day, but Tuesday was the first time he’s come out on top.
Ellsworth (0-4) 24 39 – 63
Iowa Western (4-0) 46 35 – 81
E: Johnson 4-10 0-0 11, Endisch 2-12 2-2 7, Mathern 4-10 6-6 17, Kloubec 3-7 2-4 8, Quigley 4-6 1-2 9, Young 2-5 6-9 10, Roberts 0-1 1-2 1, Neal 0-2 0-0 0, Broders 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-53 18-25 63.
IW: Wilson 8-14 6-7 23, Rubene 2-7 1-2 5, Peterson 3-7 0-0 8, Jaecks 3-7 0-0 8, Fox 6-11 0-0 12, Eldridge 3-10 3-4 9, Wood 3-6 0-0 6, York 0-2 0-0 0, Parker 0-3 5-6 5, Metzger 0-3 0-0 0, Kotnik 4-7 2-3 10, Colton 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-75 17-22 81.
Three-point goals: E 7-24 (Johnson 3-7, Endisch 1-7, Mathern 3-7, Kloubec 0-1, Quigley 0-1, Young 0-1), IW 4-13 (Wilson 1-2, Peterson 2-2, Jaecks 1-2, Eldridge 0-2, Wood 0-1, York 0-1, Parker 0-1, Metzger 0-1). Rebounds: E 25 (Johnson, Quigley 6), IW 56 (Fox 11). Assists: E 11 (Johnson, Young 4), IW 13 (Peterson 4). Turnovers: E 19, IW 19. Total fouls: E 17, IW 22. Fouled out: IW (Rubene).