LONE TREE 

Looking at the scoreboards, Lone Tree held a slim 20-19 lead heading into halftime.  It took a dominant second half by the Lady Lions to quell the pesky Pekin Panthers, winning 46-34 on Friday, Dec. 15.

Pekin jumped to the early lead, up 8-6 at the end of quarter one. 

The slow start continued for both teams heading into the second.

When the pace picked up, it was junior Cate Sexton leading the Lady Lion charge with 17 points on the night. Sophomore Finley Jacque was second in team scoring with 10. 

Sexton also led the Lady Lions with 14 rebounds. Sophomore Alyson Ford and junior Rylee Shield were close behind with 12 rebounds apiece. 

Lone Tree outscored Pekin 14-9 in the third quarter to solidify their lead. Now setting the pace, Lone Tree outscored Pekin 12-6 in the fourth to seal the deal. 

The win moved Lone Tree to 9-1 on the year.  Last season, the Lady Lions showed promise with a 13-9 record. This year, they’re just four games back from that impressive season total.

As always, the true mark of improvement will be viewed once playoff basketball graces the courts. With nine more games left on the schedule, Lone Tree could have one of their best seasons yet. And the young roster continues to show steps toward improvement.

The win against Pekin was done without junior Vivian Zaruba and sophomore Ava Christofferson, who both are key contributors for the Lady Lion attack. 

Zaruba leads the Lady Lions with 29 assists and 46 steals. She is also fifth in team scoring with 58. 

Christofferson is third in team scoring with 63 and steals with 30. Of the starting cast, Christofferson has turned the ball over the least with just 10 on the young season. The combined speed of Zaruba and Christofferson was missed most on the court. 

Winning a game without two starters present proves the solid team effort. Lone Tree still had their top two scorers, Jacque with 179 and Ford with 69. Shield is fourth in team scoring with 62.

Lone Tree 55,  Louisa-Muscatine 17

Despite being on the road after three straight home games, the Lady Lions did not stop their winning ways. 

Lone Tree, by way of a strong defensive effort, picked up its fourth conference victory of the season, defeating the Louisa-Muscatine Falcons on Dec. 12. 

This win improved Lone Tree’s record to 8-1, with their only loss coming from conference leader Columbus. Since that loss to the Wildcats, Lone Tree has now won five in a row. 

The first quarter was dominated by Lone Tree, scoring 20 and holding the Falcons to just three points. They scored an additional 17 in the second quarter to take a 30 point lead at the half.   

Louisa-Muscatine scored 10 points in the second half to arrive at their final score of 17. This was the Falcons lowest scoring game of the season. 

Scoring over 20 for the fifth time this season, sophomore Finley Jacque led the Lady Lions with 22 points. Jacque connected a team high five three-pointers to go along with three steals.

Leading the Lady Lions in steals was junior Vivian Zaruba. Zaruba ended the night with six steals and eight points. Possessing an impressive knack for snatching the ball away, Zaruba has 46 steals on the season, tied for the most in Class 1A. 

Sophomore Alyson Ford was productive in the rebounds department, leading the team with 11 boards, five being offensive and six being defensive. 

The Lady Lions played one more game, facing off against the WACO Warriors on Tuesday, Dec. 19, before entering Winter Break. Basketball teams will return to the court on January 2.