The Van Buren County Warriors girls basketball team won consecutive road games this week, defeating Columbus 47-41 on Monday, January 19th, and Holy Trinity Catholic 45-33 on Tuesday, January 20th. The victories improved the Warriors to 11-6 overall and 8-4 in conference play, surpassing last year’s win total for the first time since the 2020-21 season.
Game One: Van Buren County 47, Columbus 41
In this Southeast Iowa Super Conference interdivisional matchup between South Division member Van Buren County and North Division’s Columbus, the Warriors survived a second-half rally to secure the road victory.
Game Summary
Van Buren County jumped out to a 7-0 lead to start the game and held a 15-10 advantage after the first quarter. The Warriors extended their lead to 13 points at 25-12 in the second quarter as Columbus endured a brutal stretch, failing to make a field goal for five minutes. Van Buren County took a 29-19 halftime lead, though Kayley Snowgren and Adalyn Snowgren each picked up three fouls in the first half, forcing the Warriors to play more cautiously.
The Warriors built their lead to 11 points in the third quarter before Columbus mounted a furious comeback. The Wildcats went on an 11-2 run between the third and fourth quarters, cutting what had been a 36-26 deficit with 2:30 left in the third to just 38-35 heading into the fourth. Columbus continued their surge, making a layup with 4:27 remaining to pull within one at 40-39.
Crunch Time
With Van Buren County’s lead down to one point and 4:13 remaining, Adalyn Snowgren drove right to the basket for a layup while drawing a foul on Columbus leading scorer Kennedy Woepking, her fifth foul. The basket counted, though Snowgren missed the free throw, giving the Warriors a 42-39 cushion. It was Snowgren’s first field goal of the entire second half.
Daphny Wells came up with a crucial block on the next Columbus possession, but the Warriors couldn’t capitalize. After the ball went out of bounds off Van Buren County, Columbus answered with a mid-range jumper to make it 42-41.
The Warriors turned the ball over on their next possession, giving Columbus a chance to take the lead, but the Wildcats’ three-point attempt hit the back rim and was rebounded by Adalyn Snowgren.
Van Buren County couldn’t score on the ensuing possession, and Columbus got the ball back but also failed to convert. Sophia Jirak grabbed the rebound for the Warriors. With 1:06 remaining and the score still 42-41, the Warriors again failed to score as the ball bounced out of bounds near the baseline. Officials granted Columbus a timeout.
Out of the timeout, Kayley Snowgren came up with a huge steal and had a chance to extend the lead on a fastbreak layup, but the shot didn’t fall. A jump ball was called with 35 seconds remaining, and Columbus won the possession arrow. However, with 27 seconds left, Kayley drew an offensive foul on Columbus, giving the ball back to the Warriors.
With 23 seconds remaining, Columbus committed their fourth team foul on Sophia Jirak. On the inbound pass back to Jirak, Columbus fouled again for their fifth team foul, and officials ruled it intentional—awarding two free throws and possession to Van Buren County. Jirak calmly stepped to the line and made both free throws to push the lead to 44-41.
Columbus fouled Jirak again immediately after the inbound, sending her back to the line. She made both to extend the lead to 46-41. After Columbus turned the ball over out of bounds, the Wildcats fouled Jirak once more. She made the first but missed the second, sealing the 47-41 victory.
Van Buren County Leaders
Sophia Jirak led the Warriors with 19 points, three rebounds, three assists, and a block. She was 7-of-8 from the free-throw line, all in the fourth quarter. Marlee Mertens scored all 12 of her points in the first half, going 4-of-6 from three-point range, and added two rebounds, two assists, and a block.
Daphny Wells contributed eight points, 13 rebounds, an assist, two steals, and two blocks. Adalyn Snowgren finished with five points, 10 rebounds, and two steals despite foul trouble. Kayley Snowgren added three points, four assists, and two steals.
Aubrey Loeffler grabbed three rebounds, dished out two assists, and recorded a steal. Ava Loeffler and Elli Daugherty also saw action.
By the Numbers
Van Buren County shot 31.3% from the field (15-of-48) and 33.3% from three-point range (7-of-21). The Warriors made 10-of-18 free throws and grabbed 31 rebounds while recording 12 assists and seven steals. They committed 20 turnovers and 12 fouls.
Columbus shot 26.2% from the field (16-of-61) and 25% from beyond the arc (7-of-28). The Wildcats made just 2-of-6 free throws and grabbed 33 rebounds while recording 11 assists and nine steals. They committed 13 turnovers and 16 fouls.
Kennedy Woepking led Columbus with 11 points.
Game Two: Van Buren County 45, Holy Trinity Catholic 33
The Warriors followed up their Columbus win with another road victory the next night, despite playing without senior sharpshooter Marlee Mertens, who was out sick. Elli Daugherty started in her place.
Game Summary
Both teams struggled offensively early, with the game tied 4-4 with 2:30 left in the first quarter and 7-7 with 45 seconds remaining before Holy Trinity Catholic took a 12-9 lead after one. The second quarter saw even worse offensive performances, with Van Buren County enduring a five-minute drought without a field goal. The Warriors led just 18-16 at halftime.
Van Buren County extended their lead to 30-26 after three quarters before finding their offensive rhythm at the perfect time in the fourth. The Warriors put together their best offensive quarter while holding the Crusaders to just seven points with outstanding defense, pulling away for the 45-33 victory.
Van Buren County Leaders
Adalyn Snowgren bounced back from a rough offensive performance at Columbus with a game-high 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting. The freshman point guard also grabbed six rebounds, dished out three assists, recorded a steal, and blocked a shot. She hit several big three-pointers and drove effectively to the basket.
Sophia Jirak added another stellar performance with 16 points, two assists, seven steals, and a block. Daphny Wells was efficient with eight points on 4-of-5 shooting while grabbing five rebounds, recording a steal, and blocking two shots.
Elli Daugherty contributed two points and a rebound in the start. Kayley Snowgren added three rebounds, two assists, and a steal. Aubrey Loeffler grabbed three rebounds and dished out an assist. Ali Pedretti and Ava Loeffler also saw action.
By the Numbers
Van Buren County shot 42.1% from the field (16-of-38) and 43.8% from three-point range (7-of-16). The Warriors made 6-of-10 free throws and grabbed 19 rebounds while recording nine assists and 10 steals. They committed 14 turnovers and nine fouls.
Coach’s Perspective
Van Buren County head coach Randy Smith reflected on the Columbus victory:
“Columbus was a long trip after having four games last week. They were scrappy and played well. Marlee Mertens had four three-pointers in the first half and Sophia Jirak hit five of six free throws in the final minute when it was a two-point game. So our seniors played a big role in that game.”
On the Holy Trinity Catholic win without Mertens, Smith praised multiple contributors:
“Holy Trinity was another road game the next night and Marlee was sick and didn’t make the trip. Sophia had another great game and Adalyn Snowgren, our freshman point guard, played probably her best game of the year. She hit a couple big three-pointers and drove the ball to the basket. Daphny Wells played really well and Kaylee Snowgren, as she does every night, had great energy and played really good defense.”
Season Context
The two victories improved Van Buren County to 11-6 overall and 8-4 in conference play. With 11 wins, the Warriors have now surpassed last year’s total of 10 wins and achieved their highest win total since the 2020-21 season, when they featured senior scorer Isabel Manning, who averaged 30.2 points per game reaching 15 wins on the season.
The wins also concluded a grueling stretch in which the Warriors played six games in nine days, with five of them on the road. Van Buren County went 3-3 during this demanding portion of their schedule.
Columbus fell to 5-9 with the loss, while Holy Trinity Catholic dropped to 3-12 overall and 2-9 in conference play.
The Warriors will host conference opponent Danville on Friday, January 23rd, for Senior Night and Hall of Fame Inductions. Van Buren County defeated Danville 59-41 earlier in the season on December 19th, and the Bears will be seeking revenge.
Photography courtesy of Jaime Moquin.
