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High School Sports
GIRLS BASKETBALL: MORRISON 60, NEWMAN 29
Morrison dominates paint on both ends, blocks 14 shots in w in against New man
By DAN WUSSOW dwussow@shawmedia.com
The Morrison Fillies went into the Three Rivers Conference crossover clash with the Newman Comets with a pronounced size advantage, having two starters with 6-plus inches over their opponent’s tallest player.
By winning the rebound battle decisively, blocking 14 shots and consistently scoring in the paint, they took full advantage of the physical mismatch and won 60-29 at Newman’s Gym.
Morrison (15-7) seized momentum immediately as Camryn and Shelby Veltrop took turns assisting each other for a 6-0 lead in the first 1:15.
Jess Johns recovered a loose ball and laid it in for Newman’s first points a minute later, but the Fillies wouldn’t concede much more in the opening quarter.
Camryn Veltrop pushed the lead to 1 1 - 6 w i t h t w o f r e e t h r o w s a s 2 : 0 4 remained, and Diana Robbins assisted Shelby Veltrop on the fast break for a seven-point lead to end the quarter.
“When we started off, our defense was kind of rough,” Shelby Veltrop said. “But then, once we started running the floor a little bit, I think that helped in combination with our defense picking up because they were kind of packing it inside a little bit. So we had to make sure that we ran the floor.”
Just 15 seconds into the second quarter, Madison Duhon buried a deep 2 off a Johns post pass, drawing the Comets to within five. But the deficit quickly expanded amid shooting struggles.
The Fillies widened their lead to 24-14 on an Emery Brewer free throw with 2:47 left. Just over a minute later, Shelby Veltrop grabbed an offensive rebound, then put it back in with a short-range jumper over a Newman defender. In the last 12 seconds, Jordan Eads hit a midrange jumper, giving the Fillies a 28-17 lead at the half.
Camryn Veltrop swatted five shots before the break, and Morrison repeatedly denied Newman’s attempts to feed Johns in the post.
“I talked to the girls at halftime. They knew that it was a really sloppy game,” Morrison coach Kerry Grim said of the first half in which both teams struggled with turnovers. “Like I said, they’re coming off a very big win [against Sherrard]. They just played very lethargic, and we let them know that we weren’t happy with that kind of play.”
With a pump-fake layup over Camryn Veltrop 10 seconds into the third quarter, Johns moved the deficit back to single digits. But the Comets couldn’t keep the momentum.
Morrison went up 32-19 as Shelby Veltrop put back a Camryn Veltrop miss with 7:05 to play, then 35-21 as Robbins put back another miss about 30 seconds later.
Shelby Veltrop followed with back-toback baskets on the fast break – the second of which was started by a Robbins block and rebound – and the Fillies’ lead increased to 39-21 in the blink of an eye.
After a Shelby Veltrop mid-range jumper in the final minute, Morrison took a 43-25 lead into the final quarter.
“I think most teams, they don’t have size to match up,” Camryn Veltrop said. “Especially with two post players, it helps getting it down low. And then some of our guards step up and shoot outside, which helps a lot, too, even when they pack it down inside the lane.”
With a 15-4 fourth-quarter run, the Fillies sealed their win.
Shelby Veltrop hit a jump hook for a 45-25 lead with 6:44 to play, then Eads knocked down two free throws with just under a minute remaining to cap the 31-point win.
Shelby Veltrop led the Fillies with 24 points, nine rebounds, four assists, six blocks and two steals. Camryn Veltrop tallied 18 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, five steals and five blocks. Robbins had six points, five rebounds, seven assists, three steals and two blocks. E a d s a d d e d s e v e n p o i n t s , t h r ee rebounds and one steal.
HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS ROUNDUP
Boys basketball
Erie-Prophetstown 49, Morrison
42: The Panthers outscored the Mustangs 21-12 in the fourth quarter for a Three Rivers West win in Erie.
Erie-Prophetstown was led by Noah Wiseley with 12 points and Jack Minssen and Michael Collins with 10 points apiece. Caleb Naftzger added eight points for the Panthers.
Leaders for Morrison were Brenden Martin with 12 points, DaeShaun McQueen with nine points and Carson Strating with eight points. The Mustangs rallied from an eight-point first-quarter deficit to a 19-19 halftime tie and a 30-28 lead through three quarters, but came up short in the fourth.
Fulton 65, Eastland 39: The Steamers rolled to a 42-13 halftime lead, then held off a late Cougars charge to win their sixth straight game. Baylen Damhoff scored more than 30 points for the second straight game, pouring in 32 to lead Fulton (11-6, 3-0 NUIC South).
Reed Owen scored 11 points and Ethan Price added 10 points for the Steamers.
Rockridge 63, Morrison 29: The Mustangs trailed 19-7 after the first quarter, then were outscored 40-20 over the next two periods in a Three Rivers West loss at home.
Morrison was led by Chase Newman’s 15 points. DaeShaun McQueen, Carson Strating and Brenden Martin added four points each for the Mustangs.
Fulton 50, Polo 36: The Marcos jumped ahead 12-10 in the first quarter behind six points from both Brock Soltow and Carson Jones, but the Steamers rallied to a 12-point halftime lead, then outscored their NUIC South opponent 17-12 in the fourth quarter to secure their seventh win in a row.
Ethan Price led Fulton with 16 points, Kole Schipper scored 12 points, Baylen Damhoff had nine points, and Dom Kramer added eight points.
Manny’s Roundball Classic
Fulton defeats Freeport and Rock-
ford Christian: The Fulton boys basketball team stretched its winning streak to nine games with a pair of wins at the Manny’s Roundball Classic in Freeport on Saturday, defeating the host Pretzels and previously unbeaten Rockford Christian, the fifth-ranked team in the latest Associated Press Class 2A poll.
The Steamers (14-6) defeated Freeport 69-62 after leading 35-26 at halftime and 51-44 through three quarters. Ethan Price scored a game-high 29 points and shot 13 for 16 from the free-throw line, while Baylen Damhoff had 24 points and was 7 for 8 from the line.
Fulton then defeated Rockford Christian 76-69, pulling away after the teams were tied 57-57 through three quarters. Damhoff hit five 3-pointers and poured in 35 points, Price scored 22 points, and Ryan Eads added 11. Kevion Cummings led the Royal Lions (18-1) with 24 points, while Christian Cummings added 18 and Elijah Daugherty scored 16.
Girls basketball
Erie-Prophetstown 41, Newman
25: The Panthers led 11-2 after one quarter and 19-9 by halftime in a Three Rivers crossover win in Prophetstown.
Kennedy Buck finished with 14 points and Sydney Schwartz scored 12 for Erie-Prophetstown, which outscored the Comets 22-16 in the second half. Reagan Sibley finished with five points and Hannah Huisman scored four.
Rock Falls 44, Riverdale 21: Rock Falls jumped out to a 12-point first-quarter lead, then held Riverdale to two points in the third quarter on its way to a win in Port Byron.
Kenadie Willemkens paced the Rams with five points.
Morrison 67, Orion 45: The Fillies led 23-13 after one quarter and 43-23 by halftime in a Three Rivers West win at home.
Shelby Veltrop had 22 points and Camryn Veltrop scored 18 for Morrison (16-7). Diana Robbins added 11 points and Jordan Eads chipped in nine for the Fillies.
Erie-Prophetstown 43, Rockridge 39: The Panthers topped the Rockets in a Three Rivers West game in Prophetstown.
Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media Fulton’s Kole Schipper battles for a rebound against Polo during a Friday, Jan. 13, game in Fulton.
Boys bowling
Erie-Prophetstown 2,902, Gen-
eseo 2,568: The Panthers won all three games in a nonconference road dual against the Maple Leafs.
Keith Goodson opened his 543 series with a 202 game to lead Erie-Prophetstown, while Bryce VanDeWostine rolled a 513 series and Shawn Chandler had a 507. Robert Winters had a 502 series with a 200 second game, Ethan Otten added a 457 series, and Brenden Boggs-Chavez chipped in a 380 series for the Panthers.
Boys swimming
Dunlap 98, Sterling 78: The Water Warriors won three events in a dual loss to Dunlap at the Duis Center.
Skylar Drolema won the 50 freestyle (23.43 seconds) and the 100 free (50.00) for Sterling, while Evan Scott (1:08.82) and Connor Pham (1:10.63) went 1-2 in the 100 breaststroke.
Pham was second in the 100 butterfly (1:00.34). Conner Porter took second in both the 200 freestyle (1:58.74) and 500 free (5:19.67). Peter Garland was runner-up in the 200 IM (2:19.61). Patrick Riley took second in the 100 backstroke (1:06.74).
Drolema, Pham, Porter and Garland teamed up to take second in both the 200 medley relay (1:47.26) and 200 freestyle relay (1:38.41). Riley and Scott joined Dale Johnson and Jack Graves to take second in the 400 free relay (3:54.04).
Wrestling
Morrison swept at home in trian-
gular: The Mustangs lost to Rockridge 42-36 and Mercer County 39-34.
Camden Pruis (138 pounds) had a 10-2 major decision, and Logan Baker (160) won by pin in 4:59 for Morrison’s two contested wins against Mercer County.
The Mustangs got five contested wins against Rockridge. Warren Riffle (120) won by pin in 2:53, Levi Milder (126) won by pin in 1:40, Brady Anderson (152) won by pin in 3:26, and Gavin Arians (182) won by pin in 18 seconds.
Erie-Prophetstown sweeps home
triangular: The Panthers defeated ROWVA 48-34 and West Carroll 36-30.
Against ROWVA, Erie-Prophetstown took three wins by forfeit and five by pin. Samantha Kilker (106) pinned Brooke Stickle in 5:02, Jayda Rosenow (138) pinned Ava Johnson in 1:56, Dante Pels (145) pinned Jaxen Pemberton in 3:25, Aedan Thompson (152) pinned Delanna Buchley in 3:21, and Jordae Crow (160) pinned Connor Wilson in 1:57.
The Panthers won four matches by forfeit and two by pin against West Carroll. Crow (160) pinned Cole Herrell in 1:36 for the first win, then Jeffrey Chastain (285) pinned Logan Thulen in 1:59 for the second.
Panthers sweep at home:
Erie-Prophetstown defeated Monmouth-Roseville 44-34 and Mendota 55-24 in a Three Rivers triangular in Erie.
Wyatt Goossens (126/132 pounds), Aidan Jepson (138/145) and Jordae Crow (170) all had two pins for the Panthers. Jase Grunder (152/160) won by pin and technical fall, and Connor Johnson (113) won by pin and decision.
Steamers split in Kewanee: Fulton defeated Morrison 36-28, but fell to the host Boilermakers 54-21 in a Three Rivers triangular.
Broden VenHuizen got the Steamers’ lone contested win against Morrison with a pin at 132 pounds. Fulton also received five forfeits. The Mustangs got pins from Brady Anderson (152) and Logan Baker (160) and a 9-1 major decision from Carson White (126).
Against Kewanee, Ben Fosdick (145), Zane Pannell (182) and Braiden Damhoff (285) all won by pin, with Fosdick’s coming in 55 seconds. Mason Kuebel (170) added a 6-5 decision.
Brockman Invite
Morrison rounds out top five in
Kewanee: The Hawks won the team trophy for the second straight weekend, crowning four champions to go with two runners-up and three third-placers at the Brockman Invite.
Oregon scored 242 points, while the host Boilermakers were second with 187. Knoxville (151), Sherrard (120) and Morrison (114.5) rounded out the top five, while Polo placed eighth (102.5) and Fulton finished 10th (98).
Morrison’s Levi Milder (120) pinned all three opponents on his way to the crown, and Camden Pruis (132) took second to Polo’s Wyatt Doty. Zach Milder (138) finished fourth, and Logan Baker (160) and Cameron McDonnell (220) both took fifth for the Mustangs.
Ben Fosdick (145) and Zane Pannell (170) both won three pins to take the titles at their weight classes. Braiden Damhoff (285) finished fourth, and Aaron Stillings (106) placed sixth for the Steamers.
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