A-P girls hoops split East battles

Aplington-Parkersburg girls basketball remains in a logjam in the middle of the NICL East standings after splitting two East contests last week.

The Falcons staved off Waterloo Columbus at home, 45-39, on Tuesday, Jan. 5 but couldn't keep pace with 2A No. 7 Denver in a 49-40 loss at the Cyclone Center on Friday, Jan. 8.

The Falcons are 6-4 overall and 4-4 in the NICL East, tied with Sumner-Fredericksburg and the Sailors in fourth place in the standings. A-P played a cross-NICL game at AGWSR on Tuesday, Jan. 12 and wraps up the week back home against Hudson on Jan. 15.

Kasidy Mohwinkle scored 11 points in the Falcons' win against Waterloo Columbus. Kaitlin Cuvelier and Jada Oldenburger contributed eight points each. Ellen Waller grabbed a team-leading six rebounds.

The Falcons led 26-16 at halftime but the Sailors were able to hang around in the second half, led by Eva Christensen's 12 points on four 3-pointers and Ali Vesely's 10 points and team-leading 11 rebounds.

Denver outscored A-P 16-7 in the third quarter of the Falcons' loss in Denver on Friday, giving the Cyclones a little breathing room in a game that was 18-17 in Denver's favor at the halftime horn.

Ellen Waller scored 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting, 3-of-7 from 3-point range, to lead the Falcons in the scoring column. Sommer Stotler contributed 10 points and four steals; Kasidy Mohwinkle and Ellie Etjen had seven and five rebounds, respectively.

Denver made plenty of free throws on Friday, 15-of-21 from the charity stripe. Allison Bonnette was 9-of-10 from the line to contribute to her team-leading 14 points, adding six rebounds off the glass.

A-P 45, WC 39

Halftime: A-P 26, WC 16. WC scoring: Eva Christensen 12, Morgan Bradley 10, Ali Vesely 10, Reagan Lindsay 7. A-P scoring: Kasidy Mohwinkle 11, Kaitlin Cuvelier 8, Jada Oldenburger 8, Sommer Stotler 6, Ellie Etjen 6, Ellen Waller 2, Emalee Price 2, Lily Hovenga 2, Seyann Luhring 0.

Denver 49, A-P 40

Halftime: Den 18, A-P 17. A-P scoring: Ellen Waller 15, Sommer Stotler 10, Jada Oldenburger 6, Ellie Etjen 4, Kaitlin Cuvelier 3, Kasidy Mohwinkle 2, Lily Hovenga 0, Seyann Luhring 0. Den scoring: Allison Bonnette 14, Emma Hennessy 12, Reese Johnson 9, Tessa Joerger 6, Grace Hennessy 5, Avery Forde 3.