What we learned in Keokuk girls basketball's victory over West Burlington
Keokuk High School girls basketball coach Mike Davis puts a heavy emphasis on defense.
If you want to play for the Chiefs, you had better be willing to work hard on the defensive end of the floor or spend your time watching from the end of the bench.
No if, ands or buts about it.
In fact, Davis stresses defense so much that every Wednesday that's all the Chiefs do in practice. Not a single player takes a shot the entire practice. Instead, they drill defensive fundamentals over and over and over again until they become second nature.
That extra work paid off for the Chiefs on Monday. After a two-week hiatus for the winter break, Keokuk hounded West Burlington endline to endline, sideline to sideline. By the time it was over, Keokuk walked away with a resounding 76-34 victory over the Falcons at West Burlington High School.
Want to play girls basketball for Keokuk? You had better know how to play good, solid, fundamental defense.
“Every Wednesday we only play defense the whole practice. We don’t shoot one ball. Defense is a big part of our game. We practice it a lot," said Keokuk senior Abby Wolter, who led all scorers with 27 points.
“The non-negotiable thing for us is you are going to play defense," Davis said. "Your reward for that is, if you are open in the rhythm offof the offense, you take shots when you’re open. Tonight we had a lot of kids who knocked down some great shots. They did a great job.”
“Their defense was really good. I was impressed," said West Burlington head coach John Vandenberg, who guided the Falcons to a state tournament berth last season. "It was a little bit better than I thought it was going to be. They’re buying into his system, obviously.”
A fast start, a strong finish
The Chiefs (6-3) scored the first eight points of the game and never looked back. Kayde Martin converted a layup, Wolter got a steal and a layup, then scored on a putback of her own missed shot and scored a second layup.
West Burlington (7-2) got on the scoreboard with a pair of free throws by Abbey Bence 2 minutes, 24 seconds in and didn't get a field goal until Riley Richards scored on a short jumper with 4:47 left in the opening stanza.
By the end of the first quarter, Keokuk had a commanding 24-10 lead.
“I was tired of not playing games over the break. I just came out here and I was super excited to get back to playing," Wolter said. “We’ve been putting in the work all week. We had some scrimmages on Friday that helped us prepare for this game. They played a 1-3-1, which we were expecting tonight. Honestly, we’ve been working really hard to get off to a good start because we want to make a state run this year.”
The fast start allowed Davis to use his deep and talented bench. Fourteen players got into the game for Keokuk and 11 of them scored.
“We’ve started our last three or four games that way," Davis said. "We come out ready to play and get after teams really early. It’s hard to maintain that same intensity for four quarters that way. Tonight I was able to really rotate some kids in and out. Getting out to that big start helped us to do that.”
Searching to replace injured Kelley
West Burlington seemed to be finding its groove before the winter break until sophomore guard Logan Kelley suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee. That took a big piece of Vandenberg's pressure defense and transition offense away, and the Falcons are working to fill the void.
“We can do it. We just have to get some girls a little more confident. We’ve had two games without her. I think Taryn (Havener) is going to be just find. Bella (Blaufuss) is going to come around. I was hoping to have them ready by the end of break. It just didn’t work out. We’ve got to be more physical in practice and really put pressure on those girls to push them a little bit more," Vandenberg said. “Taryn plays plays varsity volleyball and Bella has played varsity softball and volleyball. We have to rely on some of that stuff coming through and making sure their skills get a little bit sharper.”
Bence led the Falcons on this night with 18 points, while Stacey Dzawo added eight points and Richards added five points.
On the horizon
Keokuk hosts Burlington on Friday in a Southeast Conference game at Wright Fieldhouse. The Chiefs then travel to Washington on Jan. 11 before hosting the Demons on Jan. 14.
West Burlington, after playing Van Buren County at home on Tuesday, hosts Burlington at 3 p.m. Saturday. The Falcons host Danville on Jan. 11 and travel to play Central Lee on Jan. 14.
By the numbers
KEOKUK (76)
Makenna Altgilbers 3-7 0-0 8, Makayla Altgilbers 4-5 0-0 8, Abby Wolter 12-18 2-3 27, Kayde Martin 4-8 0-0 9, Abigail Belba 2-3 0-0 4, Natalie Ames 2-5 0-0 6, Haylee Davis 2-3 0-0 5, Camryn Atterberg 0-2 0-0 0, Irelynn Seay 1-2 0-0 3, Allison Ames 1-3 0-0 2, Layonna Stewart 0-0 0-0 0, Gracie Thompson 1-2 0-0 2, Suzie Whitaker 0-0 0-0 0, Ada Wood 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 33-60 2-3 76.
WEST BURLINGTON (34)
Bella Blaufuss 0-4 0-0 0, Riley Richards 2-6 1-2 5, Taryn Havener 0-3 0-0 0, Abbey Bence 5-9 8-9 18, Stacey Dzawo 4-6 0-0 8, Kenna Marlow 1-5 0-0 2, Lauren Summers 0-1 0-0 0, Lyndsey Kelley 0-0 1-2 1, Isabella Callison 0-1 0-0 0, Kyra Garr 0-1 0-1 0. Totals: 12-36 10-14 34.
Score by quarters
Keokuk. 24. 15. 25 12. — 76
West Burlington. 10. 11. 9. 4. — 34
Fouls: Keokuk 14, West Burlington 7. Fouled out: None. Technicals: None. 3-point goals: Keokuk 8-18 (Makenna Altgilbers 2-4, N. Ames 2-4, Davis 1-1, Martin 1-2, Seay 1-2, Wolter 1-3), West Burlington 0-4 (Marlow 0-1, Summers 0-1, Havener 0-2).
Records: Keokuk 6-3, West Burlington 7-2.
This article originally appeared on The Hawk Eye: Keokuk limits West Burlington to 34 points in 42-point road win
