The stands were packed and the atmosphere was electric last Friday night for the Mustangs’ final regular season home game. The girls and boys teams both took on the Roland Story Norsemen for the varsity doubleheader. The boys defeated the Norsemen 67-56, while the girls fell short of a conference championship title, losing 73-50.
The nine senior players were honored in between the boys and girls games. This year there were seven senior boys, Gavin Van Gorp, Cutler VandeLune, Pete Kiernan, Gavin DeRaad, Brevin DeRaad, Kaleb DeVries, and Jake Winters. “It doesn’t really feel like I’m a senior,” Senior Gavin Van Gorp stated. “I’m just thankful for the entire season, thankful for all the guys that have been involved with it.”
The seniors combined for a total of 33 points with Van Gorp leading with 17 points, finishing the night perfect from three. Cutler VandeLune also hit some big shots, ending the night with eight points. Kaleb DeVries had a team-high nine assists. Junior Chase Wagaman had a big night, leading the team with 25 points. With the win, the Mustangs improve to 10-10 overall. Their season is not over though, as they play two more home games, facing Knoxville and Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont.
The two senior girls honored were Addison Steenhoek and Rebecca DeVries. “My senior year so far has been incredible,” DeVries remarked when asked about her senior year experience. “We work hard in practice and it pays off in games, and on top of it all we have an amazing community who supports us like I’ve never seen before.”
With the loss, the Mustangs fall to 18-3 overall. With leading scorer Libby Winters in early foul trouble, the girls were unable to defeat the seventh-ranked Norsemen. Junior Tori Lindsay led the team with 14 points and five rebounds. Steenhoek finished with 13 points and swiped four steals for the night.
The season is not yet over for the girls as they finish the regular season and head into a very anticipated postseason. “I really hope to make it to state,” DeVries said when asked about what she hopes to accomplish with the team. “As a freshman, this goal was near impossible to reach, but I really think if we push ourselves to be the best we can, we have a really good shot at doing something special.”
The girls face Van Meter in their final regular season game before hosting round one of regionals. “I’m excited to hopefully make some history,” Steenhoek said. “We’re home for the first two rounds which hasn’t happened in a while, so hopefully we can get a good crowd, make some memories, and have some fun.” The Mustangs will face South Tama this Saturday, February 15, at 7pm.
