Creek Valley Boys, Girls Defeat Minatare

A three week layoff due to the holidays and weather were no problem for the Creek Valley Lady Storm basketball team as they travelled to Minatare and handily beat the Lady Indians 39-13 Saturday. Creek Valley's first game of 2018 came after sitting out the holiday tournament due to winter storms. The Lady Storm's defense brought it's own "inclement weather" Saturday afternoon to Minatare that left the Lady Indians unable to gain any traction against Creek Valley's stifling defense. Creek Valley senior Payje Misegadis led the Lady Storm with 14 points, 13 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block in the victory.

"I was very pleased with the intensity the girls showed tonight," said Creek Valley head coach Missy Koenen.

Koenen said the girls had been working on a trap play over the break, which was very effective in the opening minutes of the game, getting the Lady Storm some quick points and limiting Minatare's scoring opportunities.

Koenen added, "It was nice having a full bench since before break we were plagued with injuries. We had Junior Taya McMillen back, and when she came she played some great defense."

From the beginning of the game, it was clear that Creek Valley had a big advantage under the boards, grabbing defensive rebounds when Minatare was able to get a shot off, and getting multiple rebounding opportunities on offense.

The Lady Storm's revamped pressure defense limited the Lady Indians scoring to only 3 points in the first quarter.

The second quarter continued in similar fashion, with Creek Valley limiting Minatare's scoring chances with aggressive defense and turnovers plaguing the Lady Indians. The Lady Storm was very successful limiting their turnovers, a key facet of their game they had been extensively working on.

"We limited our turnovers to only ten which had been our focus over the break. I was very proud of how the girls handled the ball tonight," Koenen said.

The Lady Storm continued its defensive domination in the second half, forcing turnovers and controlling the action under the boards. The Lady Indians were unable to find any adjustment to to answer Creek Valley's defensive scheme, and were unable to contain the visitor's offense. The game ended in a final score of 39-13.

Creek Valley point guard freshmen Jersie Misegadis only had one turn over on the night plus 5 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals, while junior Jordyn Koenen had a great game on the boards having 7 rebounds, 3 points, 1 assist and was 50% on the line.

Koenen added, "Tonight's win was a total team effort, and the girls are really starting to come together."

The Creek Valley Storm boys basketball team reversed their two-game losing streak with authority as they beat the Minatare's boy's squad 64-35 after the girl's contest. Creek Valley senior Michael Smith led the Storm with 26 points and 7 rebounds, while senior guard Michael Rahe had an outstanding game snagging eight steals in the victory.

Coming into the game, Minatare had been plagued by turnovers and struggled on the boards, and that continued against Creek Valley. The Storm capitalized on their rebounding advantage from the start, outscoring the Indians handily in the beginning of the 1st period, but Minatare went on run and cut the Storm's lead to 1 in the opening minutes of the 2nd period. However, Minatare's hot shooting would soon cool off.

Creek Valley responded with a 10 point run of their own, and by halftime were leading Indians 35-20. Both teams limited turnovers very well during the first half, but Creek Valley's rebounding advantage made the difference and continued through the rest of the game. The Storm also made an adjustment during halftime that stopped any chance of Minatare closing the gap in second half.

The Storm poured it on, outscoring Minatare and denying the Indians any offensive momentum, and any chance of even making the score close. By the end of the game, the Storm nearly doubled up the score, closing out with a 64-35 victory.

With the victory, Creek Valley improved their record to 4-2 (2-1 in district), and Minatare fell to 3-4 (0-1 in district).