Lady Hounds keep eye on share of conference title

NOT COMPLACENT

We’re in a really good place. We talk about how it's really easy to go on a win streak and get complacent.”

Landon Bentley, FM Head Coach

FORT MADISON - Fort Madison’s girls basketball team had one of the best defenses in the state last season, and coach Landon Bentley has been wanting his team to get back to that level.
The Bloodhounds went into full lockdown mode in the second half of Friday’s 53-51 win over Burlington to stay alive in the Southeast Conference title race.
Dayonna Davis’ baseline jumper with 29 seconds provided the final margin for the Bloodhounds, who have won seven consecutive games.
Fort Madison (11-4 overall, 6-2 conference) took sole possession of second place in the conference, one game behind Keokuk, with two games to play in the league schedule. The two teams meet to close the conference schedule on February 13.
“This win means a lot,” senior Halle Menke said. “We’re still in the conference race, which is really important.”
The Bloodhounds allowed just 36.3 points last season, best among teams in Class 4A.
“Back in December, I talked about how our defense was nothing like last year,” Bentley said. “And so it’s been a focal point since then. We’re a different team than a month ago, very different. And we bought into the defensive end of the floor.”
Fort Madison trailed 45-28 with 1:50 to play in the third quarter, then held the Grayhounds to just one field goal the rest of the game.
That statistic surprised Menke.
“Oh wow,” she said. “I didn’t know that. That’s pretty good.”
The formula, Menke said, was simple.
“We were just communicating well and getting to every rebound,” she said.
Fort Madison lost by 22 to the Grayhounds in late December, and it looked like Burlington was going to get away from the Bloodhounds again in this game.
Burlington led 30-14 with four minutes left in the second quarter before Fort Madison closed the half with a 7-0 run to cut the lead to single digits.
And when the Grayhounds made a similar move in the second half, the Bloodhounds’ answer was bigger and better.
“It gave us a lot of confidence,” Menke said of the first run. “We started making shots, which got us into a rhythm. And we got some defensive stops.”
“We cut the lead to nine to end the first half, and it gave us a little confidence that we were still in the game,” Bentley said. “But that’s what happens when you have seniors. They understand basketball is a game of runs, you go one possession at a time, whether you’re up or down. There’s no roller coaster of emotions.”
Burlington got 17 points from Daphne Brown, but leading scorer Mylee Stiefel was held to 15 points, almost six under her season average, because of the defense of Davis. Stiefel did not have a field goal over the last 13 minutes.
“Dayonna has taken it upon herself to guard the other team’s best player,” Bentley said. “She takes pride in that.”
Davis finished with 17 points. Hadley Wolfe had 10 points. Menke and Charley Huebner each had nine.
“We’re in a really good place,” Bentley said. “We talk about how it's really easy to go on a win streak and get complacent. It may sound harsh at times, but we have a very honest relationship with all the players, and they know we haven't completed what we want yet, and so we've got to stay hungry, and we have to try to get better every single day. I don't think we’ve played our best basketball yet.”
“It was a good victory,” Menke said. “But we’ve got to get many more.”