The West Liberty High School varsity girls' basketball team hit the ground running in the River Valley Conference, capturing victories over Mid-Prairie and Durant before falling to sixth-ranked class 5A Des Moines Valley Saturday to end their first week of action.
The season started officially on Tuesday as the Comets of second year coach Matt Hoeppner hosted the Golden Hawks of Mid-Prairie. The shorthanded Comet team, with just six players, wasted no time jumping ahead, leading16-9 after the first quarter of action. The Comets matched their point tally in the second period, heading into the locker room 32-14 leaders.
The Golden Hawks closed the gap in the third quarter, outscoring the Comets 10-8. An explosive fourth quarter followed as the Comets cruised to a 61-38 victory in their season opener.
Senior six-foot center Macy Daufeldt led the Comets in both scoring and rebounds with 24 and 12 respectively. Sophomore Finley Hall followed closely behind with 20 points of her own along with six rebounds. Sailor Hall provided 10 assists on top of her nine points.
On Friday, the Comets traveled to Durant to take on the Wildcats. The teams traded blows early in the first quarter before the Comets were able to distance themselves from their opponents taking a 19-6 advantage after the first quarter.
The Comets stifled the Durant offense in the second quarter allowing just four points and taking a 39-10 advantage into the break. West Liberty coasted to victory in the second half, grabbing the easy 59-27 victory.
Daufeldt again led all scorers, managing 22 points in the outing while pulling down nine rebounds. Finley Hall totaled 15 points, five rebounds and three assists and sister Sailor Hall had 13, 11 and 4 respectively.
The opening week winning streak ended as the Comets took a road trip to Johnston to match up against Des Moines Valley in a multi-team event at Johnston.
Looking to give the girls experience against some talented competition, Hoeppner said he didn’t know how they ended up playing Valley, which was one of the best teams in the event. He said Iowa rules limited the fact the Comets could only play one game at the event.
The Comets grabbed a narrow lead after the first quarter, 14-13, before the Valley defense solidified, allowing just four West Liberty points in the second quarter. The Comets found themselves trailing 25-18 at the half.
Valley distanced themselves in the third quarter, scoring 14 points to the Comets five. The game would end with the Tigers emerging victorious 51-32.
Daufeldt was the lone Comet to hit double figures, scoring 11 with seven rebounds.
After playing at Monticello on Tuesday night, Dec. 7, the Comets host Bellevue on Monday, Dec. 13, beginning at 6:15 p.m., and continue RVC play by hosting Tipton on Tuesday, again beginning at 6:15 p.m.