Tiger Basketball Goes 1-1 at Iowa Western
February 17, 2019

Tiger Basketball Goes 1-1 at Iowa Western

The WBB and MBB teams hit the road for conference games at Iowa Western on Saturday.

Box Score

Both the WBB and MBB teams made the three hour trip to Council Bluffs, IA on Saturday, February 16. With both teams winless in conference play heading into their matchups, the Tiger squads were looking to make the snowy trip home with a pair of wins. However, when all was said and done, it was just the men who were able to accomplish the feat.

The ladies started the double header with a 5 PM tipoff. In the matchup, the Reivers proved to be too much for the Tigers to handle from the start as less than four minutes into the game, the home team had built a 17-0 lead. Mercifully, the Tigers got on the scoreboard with an Anna Jaumandreu jumper with 4:34 left to play in the first quarter. After seeing the ball go through the hoop, the Tigers seemed to relax. They closed the quarter on a 13-6 run to pull to within ten at the end of the first ten minutes to play.

But then the Tiger offense went silent again. This time it wasn't a 17 point run to start the quarter, but rather a 22 point run. It took over six minutes of play for the Tigers to score again when Danielle Smith made a free-throw. At this point, the score was 45-14, Iowa Western, and the Reivers didn't look back.

The game was never close as the Reivers went on to win 106-36. The Tigers managed to get just one player to double digit points as Clara Solsona scored 14 while going 6-16 from the field. Meanwhile, the Reivers had five scorers reach double figures as they were led by Kiara Dallmann with 23.

Next it was the guys' turn. While many of the women's conference games have been blowouts, the opposite has been true for the men. This season, though entering the game winless in conference, the Tigers had been in contention of every game. Unable to finish in any of their first six conference contests, the visiting team was able to reverse that trend on Saturday.

Kelton Edwards and Bassirou Ndiaye shined for the Tigers. Edwards shot 50% from the field while scoring a game-high 26 while Ndiaye scored 19 on an efficient 9-11 from the field. Ndiaye added one free-throw in four attempts. Tiger big man Eduardo Lane was also a difference maker for the Tigers with 13 points as he continues to be worked back into the lineup after suffering a foot injury two weeks ago.

While the women trailed early and were never able to get back into the game, the men opened up an early lead and never looked back. With a shortened rotation of only seven players, the Tigers were able to control the pace of the game and limit any Reiver runs.

While the Tiger scoring was dominated by Edwards and Ndiaye, the entire team chipped in on the boards as three players, Juan Coffi, Ndiaye, and Edwards led the team with seven rebound apiece. Sophomore guard, JJ Foster distributed the ball well on the night while racking up seven assists to pace the road team.

The women are back in action when they host William Penn University JV on Monday, February 18 and the men will play host to Southwestern Community College on Tuesday, February 19.