LADY HOUND BASKETBALL

Chiefs take control of Southeast Conference

Boatman scores 28 as Keokuk rolls Fort Madison girls 68-41

Fort Madison;s Halle Menke (35) tries to get a shot up over Keokuk's Camryn Atteberg (32) in the third period of the Chiefs' 68-41 win in Fort Madison Tuesday night. The win left the two squads tied for the Southeast Conference lead at 4-1.

Photo by Chuck Vandenberg/PCC

Fort Madison's Reilynn Turnbull (23) drives for a layup in front of Keokuk's Allison Ames (10) in the early going of the Lady Hounds loss to the Chiefs Tuesday night in Fort Madison.

Photo by Chuck Vandenberg/PCC

Dayonna Davis battles for position following a free throw in the 1st half of the Lady Hounds 68-41 loss to Keokuk in Southeast Conference girls basketball action Tuesday in Fort Madison.

Photo by Chuck Vandenberg/PCC

The Lady Hounds' Charlie Huebner (32) drives on a Keokuk defender Tuesday night in Southeast Conferene girls basketball action. The Chiefs would win 68-41 to tie Fort Madison for the top of the conference at 4-1.

Photo by Chuck Vandenberg/PCC

Posted Tuesday, January 14, 2025 11:37 pm

TOO MUCH OFFENSE

We're number two in 4A for points allowed, 34.1 a game. They doubled that. That's the biggest thing. So it's something that we're going to go back, we going to watch film, and we're going to really dig in on that end.”

Landon Bentley. FMHS girls head coach

John Bohnenkamp for Pen City Current Sports

FORT MADISON - The moment that encapsulated the night for Fort Madison’s girls basketball team came midway through the second quarter of Tuesday’s home game against Keokuk.
Fort Madison coach Landon Bentley, frustrated at the number of turnovers his team had committed, called a timeout. The Bloodhounds inbounded the ball after the timeout — and were called for traveling.
It was that kind of night for the Bloodhounds in the 68-41 loss.
The battle of the two teams at the top of the Southeast Conference standings was lopsided because of Fort Madison’s turnovers, and the play of Keokuk’s Kendra Boatman, who finished with 28 points.
The Chiefs (9-3 overall, 4-1 conference) won their eighth consecutive game.
“We’re playing a team that’s leading (Class) 4A in steals, close to 17 a game,” Bentley said. “They feed off that. Something I would give them, and we talk about it a lot, is their transition is very good. Their press will cause some problems. We tried to prepare, but it’s hard to simulate that in practice.”

Fort Madison (7-4, 4-1) went almost 5 ½ minutes without a field goal in the first half as Keokuk built a 17-point lead. The Chiefs led 36-22 at halftime, then opened the second half with a quick 7-0 run, with the first five points coming from Boatman.
“Last year, I think we held her to some of her lowest (scoring) totals of the season,” Bentley said. “We went with a similar game plan to start the game, and it wasn’t panning out, so we switched to a zone. The importance (of defending Boatman) was there, but I would say the execution wasn’t.
“We're number two in 4A for points allowed, 34.1 a game. They doubled that. That's the biggest thing. So it's something that we're going to go back, we going to watch film, and we're going to really dig in on that end.”
Hadley Wolfe led Fort Madison with 10 points. Halle Menke added eight points.
Fort Madison plays Fairfield at home on Friday, then plays host to Holy Trinity on Saturday.
“Even when we're down, we don't roll over,” Bentley said. “It wasn't our night tonight. But I'm not going to take away from the girls’ effort at all. They fought for me. So I'm not going to sit here and yell at them or bash them. I think that execution is what it comes down to.”