Published February 2021
Alexa Chase looks for an open teammate.
Written by: Moriah Knapp
Sadly, the Algona girls’ and boys’ basketball seasons have come to an end.
The boys’ team played their last away game on Friday, February 12th, in Clear Lake. Algona defeated Clear Lake, who is ranked first in the NCC, 63-59. Algona lost to Clear Lake earlier in the season 59-70. Garrett Goche led the team in points with 19. Kyle Simpson added in 13 points, and Noah Nelson added 12 points to the Bulldogs’ victory.
The Algona girls’ team ended their season in the first round of Districts on Saturday, February 13th. The Bulldogs traveled to Orange City to play the number one seed in their bracket, Unity Christian. The Bulldogs lost 36-69. Maddie Hilbert led the Bulldogs in points with 12. Lillian Etherington added in 11 points, Tora Solbach had seven points, and A’Lailah Perry added six to the Bulldogs’ loss. Solbach’s thoughts on the season are, “I am sad the season is over, but we improved a lot and I am excited to see what we can do next year.”
The girls ended their 2020-2021 season with a 5-15 record. The girls will miss their only senior, Alexa Chase, as she finished her basketball career as a Bulldog.
The boys’ team ended their regular season with a win. Algona played at home on Tuesday, February 16th. The Bulldogs hosted Webster City and won 56-46. Kyle Simpson led the Bulldogs to their win with 20 points. Tyler Manske had 12 points and James Wartick added eight points to the Bulldogs’ win.
The boys’ team began their post season on Monday, February 22nd. The Bulldogs played Boone at home, since they were the higher seed. The Bulldogs defeated Boone in their first round of Districts, 50-42.
This advanced the boys to the Class 3A second round of District play against the Humboldt Wildcat on Thursday, February 25th. Again, Algona got to host this game. Going into the game, the Bulldogs knew it was going to be tough. In their first meeting, in December, Algona came away with the win by only three points. When they traveled to Humboldt in January, the Dogs lost by 12.
This game was definitely intense, from beginning to end. The score kept flipping leads, remaining close throughout. However, a last second buzzer beater by Humboldt gave the Dogs the loss and ended their 2020-2021 season. Noah Nelson led the Dogs in points with an amazing 38!
The Bulldog boys end their season with a 16-7 record. The team graduates several leader seniors: James Wartick, Noah Nelson, Kyle Simpson, Aaron Weringa, Nick Brown, Cameren Rindone, and Jack Beenken.