Turkey Valley wins small-school showdown

CEDAR RAPIDS — The secret is out. It's a fact no longer confined to far Northeast Iowa.

Turkey Valley can play.

Shelby Reicks tallied 24 points, and the Class 1A third-ranked Trojans overcame a scoreless third quarter and knocked off No. 1 Springville, 49-42, as part of Rivalry Saturday at the U.S. Cellular Center.

'I just told myself we needed to start scoring again,' said Reicks, a junior who ranks among the state leaders in assists and steals. 'We couldn't get down and hang our heads.'

Turkey Valley (12-0) followed a drought of 10-plus minutes with a downpour. Down 36-32 with 5 1/2 minutes back, Reicks brought the Trojans back.

Her 3-pointer got the Trojans back within 36-35, then put them ahead with a bank shot from the lane. She then delivered another trey and a basket as part of an 8-0 run that put the Trojans in command at 45-37 with 1:38 left.

Springville (10-1) got within 45-42 on Megan Wagaman's 3-pointer with 44 seconds to go, but Reicks closed it out with four straight free throws.

Both teams had been whipping their conference competitors, so this came as a welcome matchup for all involved.

'We started talking about it once the matchups were set (last summer),' Reicks said.

Turkey Valley co-coach Carla Nymeyer said, 'We were looking forward to seeing somebody we hadn't seen before. We just wanted a respectable, competitive game all around.'

The Trojans led throughout the first half, by as much as 10 points. It was 28-24 at halftime.

Then they went cold. But Springville couldn't take full advantage, scoring six points in the third quarter for a 30-28 edge heading to the final eight minutes.

'Obviously, we missed a lot of layups,' Orioles Coach Nate Sanderson said. 'And there were a couple areas on the defensive end we were lacking, and Reicks made us pay.'

Taylor Busta added 10 points for the Trojans.

Rylee Menster paced Springville with 18 points. Mikayla Nachazel added 14, and Megan Wagaman posted eight points, 12 rebounds and six assists.

TURKEY VALLEY 49, SPRINGVILLE 42

At U.S. Cellular Center

SPRINGVILLE (42): Megan Wagaman 3-10 0-3 8, Rylee Menster 7-22 3-4 18, Alyssa Jaeger 0-4 0-0 0, Madi Wagaman 0-1 0-0 0, Mikayla Nachazel 7-14 0-2 14, Sydney Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Chrissy Hoogland 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 18-53 3-8 42.

TURKEY VALLEY (49): Maci Njus 0-3 0-0 0, Shelby Reicks 8-17 4-4 24, Sadie Nymeyer 1-7 1-2 3, Morgan Kuennen 2-8 0-1 4, Delaney Lensing 1-1 0-0 2, Kayla Schaufenbuel 2-4 2-2 6, Taylor Kuennen 0-1 0-0 0, Emily Busta 3-13 2-4 10, Stephanie Martin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-54 9-12 49.

Halftime: Turkey Valley 28, Springville 24. 3-point goals: Springville 3-12 (Me.Wagaman 2-3, Menster 1-7, Jaeger 0-2), Turkey Valley 6-22 (Njus 0-2, Reicks 4-10, Nymeyer 0-4, Busta 2-6). Team fouls: Springville 14, Turkey Valley 12. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Springville 36 (Megan Wagaman 12), Turkey Valley 32 (Nymeyer 8). Assists: Springville 14 (Megan Wagaman 6), Turkey Valley 10 (Reicks 5). Steals: Springville 4 (Megan Wagaman, Menster 2), Turkey Valley 2 (Reicks 2). Turnovers: Springville 21, Turkey Valley 14.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com