MFL MarMac girls win sixth straight
MFL MarMac senior Riley Moreland earned her 1,000th career point last week. (Times-Register file photo)
Moreland joins 1,000 career point club
By Audrey Posten, Times-Register
The MFL MarMac girls basketball team pushed its winning streak to six in a row last week, after downing Kee, Postville and Lanesboro, Minn. The wins also propelled the Bulldogs to 14-4 overall and 12-0 in the Upper Iowa Conference.
That perfect UIC mark was almost undone Jan. 25, as MFL MarMac staved off Kee 38-35.
The early edge went to the Bulldogs, who led 12-8 after the first quarter and 17-15 at halftime. Although an 11-8 third period run put the Hawks up 26-25, MFL MarMac had a 13-9 advantage down the stretch, and won by three points.
The Bulldogs were uncharacteristically sloppy with the ball, committing 20 turnovers to Kee’s nine. They out-rebounded the Hawks 47-29, though, including 27 on the defensive end that limited second chance scoring.
MFL MarMac also had a slight field goal edge, shooting 31.2 percent to Kee’s 26.5, and made six of 14 free throws. The Hawks got to the line just nine times, hitting five attempts.
Riley Moreland’s 14 points and 11 rebounds scored her another double-double. The senior also led the team with five assists, two steals and two blocks. Freshman Ava Kishman contributed nine points and five rebounds off the bench, while junior Grace Anderson finished with eight points, a team-high 15 rebounds and a steal.
On Jan. 28, a quick 19-2 start propelled the Bulldogs to a 64-30 throttling of Postville.
The team improved offensively, shooting 40.7 percent, and was also relentless on the defensive end of the floor, with 25 rebounds, 21 steals and two blocks.
The leading scorer was Moreland, whose 29 points put her into MFL MarMac’s 1,000 career points club. She completed the double-double with 14 rebounds and was tops with seven steals, four assists and a block.
Next up was Kishman with eight points, and she also added three rebounds and an assist. Senior Carlie Jones tallied four points, three rebounds, two steals and an assist, while junior Brooklynn Moon’s stat line was nearly identical with four points, three rebounds and two steals.
MFL MarMac completed the week with a 53-37 win over Lanesboro, in a Border Battle game at Decorah High School.
The Bulldogs again benefitted from a quick start, going up 19-4 by the end of the first quarter. They pushed their advantage to 37-12 at halftime, then coasted through the final two periods.
Moreland’s 15 points led MFL MarMac, followed by 12 from senior Lakota Morrissey and nine from Moon. Senior Miranda Lang pitched in seven points, and Kishman finished with six.
The Bulldogs will wrap up their conference schedule this week, starting with Central (13-3) on Feb. 1. They’ll head to West Central (6-11) on Feb. 3, before hosting Clayton Ridge (5-11) for the annual Cancer Awareness Night on Feb. 4.
