Girls basketball
The West Liberty girls basketball team split the week going 2 - 1 with victories over Louisa-Muscatine and Northeast before falling to Annawan at the IHMVCU shootout in Moline Saturday, Jan. 7. The Comets improve to 6 -4 overall.
Monday, Jan. 2, the Comets headed to Louisa-Muscatine to take on the Falcons, the result was never in doubt, as the Comets rolled 62 - 15 victors.
Kelsey Joens led the Comets in every statistical category, scoring 24 with eight assists, seven rebounds and seven steals. Finley Hall tallied 16 on four rebounds and assists. Sophie Buysse added nine while a trio of Comets, McKinzie Akers, Daisy Kivi and Mallory Wulf, each added three. Monica Morales and Pearson Hall rounded our scoring with a pair a piece.
Friday, Jan. 6, the Comets hosted the Northeast Rebels.
The Comets started the contest at blazing pace, outscoring the Rebels 19-4 in the opening period. The Rebels were able to correct course scoring 11 in the second quarter to close the gap, but they still trailed 25 - 15 heading into the break. Coming out of the locker room, The Comets were able to extend their lead to 12 headed into the final quarter, leading 37 - 25.
The Rebels weren't going to go down without a fight, outscoring the Comets 16 - 9 in the final quarter, but it did little beside close the margin of victory as the Comets claimed victory 48 - 41. Individual stats not available at the time of publishing.
Saturday, the Comets headed to Moline to play Annawan in the IHMVCU Shootout.
The event puts schools from Iowa against schools from Illinois in a border battle for bragging rights. The offenses were on full display as the Comets and the Bravettes did battle, jumping out to a 15 - 11 lead for the Comets after one quarter of play. Neither offense hit the breaks in the second quarter, with the Comets extending their lead after scoring 17. The Comets lead by two 32-30 at the break.
The girls clung to a 45 - 42 lead after the third quarter as they looked to close out the border battle, Annawan had other plans, outscoring the Comets 17 - 8 in the final quarter to take a 59-53 victory.
Kelsey Joens had 26 points with 11 rebounds eight assists and seven steals. Finley Hall added 10 points and rebounds. Sophie Buysse added seven more points with eight rebounds. Pearson Hall and Brooklyn Buysse added six and four respectively.
The Comets will matchup against Wilton Friday before heading to Tipton the following Tuesday.
Boys basketball
The West Liberty Boys basketball team went 1 - 2 this week, splitting their non-conference matchups against Louisa-Muscatine, falling 71 - 70 in overtime and beating Van Buren County 33 - 28. They also fell in their lone conference matchup against against Northeast held on the campus of Kirkwood Community College saturday.
Monday, the boys played the Louisa-Muscatine Falcons.
The Comets found themselves trailing early 17 - 9 after the opening quarter. The Comets closed the gap in the second quarter, outscoring the Falcons 13 - 10 before the break as they headed into the locker room trailing 30 - 19.
A 23 point explosion saw the Comets capture a narrow 45 - 41 lead after the third quarter. The Falcons clawed their way back into the contest in the final quarter, as both teams offenses put on a show looking to steal a victory.
The teams found themselves locked after four quarter at 62 and headed into overtime. In the overtime period, nine points proved enough as the Falcons stole the victory 71 - 70.
Ty Jones lead scoring with 19 points for the Comets closely followed by Jayce McHugh with 17. Ryker Dengler added 15 of his own and Diego Hernandez added eight more. Caden Laughlin and Seth Axson rounded out scoring with six and five respectively.
Tuesday the Comets played host to Van Buren County. The boys captured a first quarter lead over the Warriors 13 - 8 and never trailed again.
A defensive showcase saw the Warriors score just two in the second quarter before heading into the locker room trailing 20 - 10.
The Warriors outscored the Comets in the final two quarters, but it proved too little too late as the Comets captured the 33 - 28 victory.
Ty Jones and Diego Hernandez lead scoring with nine each. Jayce McHugh scored seven and Seth Axsom scored four. Connor Melick and Caden Laughlin rounded out Comet scoring with a pair a piece.
Saturday the Comets took to Johnson Hall on the campus of Kirkwood Community College for the River Valley Conference Shootout.
The boys found themselves in a hole early, being outscored 26-13 in the opening frame. Northeast extended their lead in the second quarter, scoring 18 more and heading into the break leading 44 - 27.
The Rebels tallied 11 more in the third and 20 in the fourth to cruise to a 75 - 45 victory over the Comets. Seth Axsom lead scoring with 14 points on the afternoon.
Ty Jones added nine and Jayce McHugh added eight. Caden Laughlin and Ryker Dengler added six and four respectively. A pair from Diego Hernandez and Connor Melick added a pair a piece to round out scoring.
The Comets head to Wilton Fridaynight before heading to Tipton next Tuesday.