MID-PRAIRIE GIRLS BASKETBALL

Defense helps Golden Hawk girls shut down Tipton

Mid-Prairie captures 2nd win in 3 games; Nora Pennington has 7 steals

By Paul D. Bowker
Posted 12/5/21

WELLMAN

Mid-Prairie’s bench provided the finishing touch in a 57-20 victory over Tipton on Friday night.

The Golden Hawks shut out the Tigers in the final quarter of the River Valley …

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MID-PRAIRIE GIRLS BASKETBALL

Defense helps Golden Hawk girls shut down Tipton

Mid-Prairie captures 2nd win in 3 games; Nora Pennington has 7 steals

Posted

WELLMAN

Mid-Prairie’s bench provided the finishing touch in a 57-20 victory over Tipton on Friday night.

The Golden Hawks shut out the Tigers in the final quarter of the River Valley South game, polishing off a dominant defensive effort.

Mid-Prairie had a season-high 22 steals, led by a career-high 7 steals by sophomore guard Nora Pennington. Of the 10 Golden Hawks who played, seven had steals. Senior forward Maddie Nonnenmann had a game-high 4 blocks.

“That’s kind of how we want to play,” Golden Hawks head coach Danny Hershberger said. “We want to put pressure on the other team and force them to make some tough passes, force some turnovers. We did a great job at getting in the passing lane and then being able to convert on the other end for layups. We did a great job of converting defense into offense tonight.”

Late in the first quarter, Maddie Nonnenmann stole a pass in the open court and sprinted down the court for an easy layup, finishing a 13-2 Mid-Prairie run and causing a Tipton timeout as the Tigers fell behind by 12 points. That’s exactly how this game went for the Golden Hawks.

Maya Nonnenmann had five steals, and Amara Jones and Kylie Reinier each had three steals. The Golden Hawks rank as one of the top defensive teams in the River Valley South, with Jones, Maya Nonnenmann and Pennington all ranked in the top five in steals, and Maddie Nonnenmann and Jones ranked among the top five in rebounds.

A deep bench helps in those defensive efforts.

“We talk about playing as hard as you can for as long as you can, we’ll get someone in so you can catch your breath and we’ll get you back in,” Hershberger said. “That doesn’t drop off when we sub, so that’s a huge advantage for us.”

Maddie Nonnenmann led the Golden Hawks with 11 points and 8 rebounds. Jones and Landry Pacha each had 10 points.

After closing out the opening quarter with a 21-3 run, the Golden Hawks went ahead by 30 points with 1:35 left in the second quarter and led 47-13 at halftime. Maddie Nonnenmann scored all of her points in the first half.

Mid-Prairie (2-1) hosts Regina Catholic (2-0) at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Mid-Prairie, girls basketball, Tipton, River Valley South