By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
Senior Kianna Herrera scored 18 points, and the Bishop LeBlond girls' basketball team continued its strong start to the season with a 66-27 win over Nodaway Valley in the LeBlond tournament Monday evening.
LeBlond (9-1) got to a somewhat sluggish start in the first few minutes, leading 5-4, but then suddenly, the Golden Eagles were ahead 17-6 after the first and then 41-12 at the half.
Herrera and fellow senior Emma Raines each made a three-pointer in the first half to kickstart the LeBlond offense, and the onslaught continued in the second half.
The Eagles got points from nine different players. Raines dropped 10 herself, while sophomore Kaleigh Ziesel came off the bench to score eight. Sophomore Kayla Beam scored six, while fellow sophomore Kyla Conard had seven. Junior Shae Lewis contributed six.
"I knew that once we got a couple of shots underneath our belt, everything would kind of fall into place," LeBlond head coach Jackie Ziesel said. "It was kind of a matter of waking up our brains and our legs and our bodies so we could get that push of momentum that we needed."
Freshman Ava Graham led Nodaway Valley with eight points. Senior Piper Hunt had five. LeBlond advances to the semifinals to play North Andrew, who beat East Buchanan Monday, 46-34. Tip-off in Tuesday's semifinal is set for 7 p.m.
Nodaway Valley faces East Buchanan in consolation play on Tuesday at 1.
Guldan hits 1000 career points, LeBlond boys pull away late
Senior Chris Guldan hit a career milestone Monday, scoring 21 points to surpass 1,000 in his career, helping the LeBlond boys to a 59-40 win over Nodaway Valley in tournament action Monday night.
Guldan was honored after the game with a large banner, commemorating his 1,000 point achievement.
"You see people in high school when you're younger getting this and you just dream of it," Guldan said. "And it came true. Just an amazing feeling."
Trailing 15-8 after the first, Nodaway Valley used a 12-0 run in the second quarter to tie the game at 23. A quick two in the lane by junior Jake Korell gave the Eagles a 25-23 lead at the break.
"The second half, me and Jake kind of turned it on a little bit," Guldan said. "Gave us a little boost and helped us win."
Leading 41-36 entering the fourth, LeBlond (6-2) ended the game on a 17-4 run to pull away. Guldan had seven points in the fourth quarter alone. Korell scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half. The next highest scorer was senior Noah Eidmann, who had six.
"(Jake and Chris) kind of carried us offensively," LeBlond coach Mitch Girres said. "We struggled a little defensively at times, which is usually something we can rely on. So, we just have to make sure we bring a little better energy to start the game. Really focus on starting better."
That sets up a LeBlond tournament semifinal matchup between LeBlond and North Andrew (5-3) on Tuesday night. Tip-off is set for 8:30 p.m. The Cardinals beat East Buchanan, 49-41, in the first round Monday.
The last time the Cardinals and Eagles met was for a Class 2 District 16 title, where North Andrew prevailed 47-45 on Feb. 25 in Rosendale.
"It's been close every time we've played 'em I think in my four years," Guldan recalled. "Will pry be close again."
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