Coming off their tremendous victory over Northfield in their season opener, the Mississinewa Indians emerged as winners in their first home game of the season, defeating the Tipton Blue Devils 57-44.
“Tipton is a really tough team,” Mississinewa Head Coach Laura Friday said. “I’m really proud of our girls for pulling it out and staying together and fighting it out as a team to get a win.”
Mississinewa led 16-11 after the first quarter and 28-20 after the second quarter, but behind another strong defensive effort in the second half helped the Indians to pull away.
“We picked up our intensity on defense” Friday said. “In the first couple of quarters, we were playing good defense for the most part, but we didn’t have that intensity about us. We talked about that at halftime – bringing up our intensity level and really focusing on getting stops and getting multiple stops in a row. They know that’s how we are going to win games, so they really stepped up on the defensive end.”
On a night where Caily Bolser only scored seven points, Mia Catey, Alayna Webb, and Darah Watson all put together strong performances. Catey led the Indians with 16 points and seven rebounds, while Webb scored 14 points. Watson added 12 points, two assists, and five steals.
“Mia, Alayna, and Darah stepped up big for us,” Friday said. “It was one of Mia’s best nights I’ve seen so far. She was open – they chose to leave her open – and she made them pay. We believe in each other. We know that someone is going to step up every single night.”
Riley McKee finished with six points, eight assists, and two steals in the Indians’ victory.
