In what head coach Randy Smith called “the gutsiest win I’ve ever been a part of,” the Van Buren County girls basketball team erased a 16-point fourth-quarter deficit to stun previously unbeaten Centerville 48-46 on Saturday, December 6th. The Warriors improved to 3-0 while handing the Redettes their first loss, dropping them to 3-1.
Game Recap
Centerville controlled the game for three quarters, leading 15-10 after the first period, 26-19 at halftime, and 43-29 entering the fourth quarter. However, Van Buren County exploded in the final frame, outscoring the Big Reds 21-3 to complete the dramatic comeback victory.
The contest marked the first meeting between the two schools in recent memory.
Van Buren County Stats
Starters:
Marlee Mertens was the catalyst for the comeback, scoring all 17 of her points in the second half, with most coming in the fourth quarter. She also grabbed nine rebounds, dished out one assist, and recorded five steals. Sophia Jirak added 11 points, a team-high six assists, and two steals despite foul trouble in the first half. Adalyn Snowgren contributed 10 points, nine rebounds, and one assist. Daphny Wells scored four points while also battling early foul trouble, adding four rebounds, one assist, one steal, and committing zero turnovers. Kayley Snowgren had two points, two rebounds, two assists, and three steals before fouling out.
Bench:
Aubrey Loeffler provided crucial minutes with three points, two rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Elli Daugherty chipped in one point, five rebounds, one assist, and two steals. Ava Loeffler added one assist.
Van Buren County struggled from the free-throw line, converting just 3-of-12 attempts. The Warriors grabbed 34 rebounds and committed 18 turnovers. Centerville shot 11-of-18 from the charity stripe, totaled 37 rebounds, and turned the ball over 24 times.
Coach’s Perspective
Smith detailed the strategic adjustments that sparked the comeback.
“We put in an overload. We finally overloaded the right side, and Marlee was just on fire. Then she slipped out on the left side and hit one. I think she had all five of her threes in the fourth quarter, maybe one in the third, but the kids were looking for her,” Smith said. “Sophia passed up a couple of shots to give it to Marlee in the corner. We changed our full-court press situation and bothered them a little bit, and that was probably the turning point. They kept getting the ball in the middle, which against our full-court press, we can’t let that happen.”
The coach was effusive in his praise for his team’s resilience and depth.
“First off, that was the gutsiest win I’ve ever been a part of. They didn’t give up. The bench depth—Kayley, when she fouled out, she kept encouraging them. And Adalyn, it’s tough to play a whole half with four fouls and not commit one, and she did a really good job doing that,” Smith said. “That’s the way she needs to play because she was still kind of aggressive. She just wasn’t reaching and doing all that stuff. Then she got the ball to where we needed to get it. I thought Aubrey Loeffler did a really good job coming off the bench and not turning the ball over.”
Smith acknowledged the quality of the opponent and the significance of the victory.
“That’s a pretty good basketball team—I don’t think they’ve been beaten. This is a big win for us. Now we need to take care of business next Tuesday in the conference,” Smith said. “If we can score above 50, we’ll win most of the games we play.”
The Warriors (3-0) will look to remain undefeated when they return to conference action on Tuesday at home against West Burlington.
