CEDAR RAPIDS — EPPJ took an early lead and made it hold up Friday afternoon to win the Riverside Holiday Tournament, defeating the host Riverside Chargers 41 to 30.
The victory boosted the Wolfpack’s record to 7-1 as they are currently riding a two-game winning streak.
Lydia Behnk scored with under a second to play to give the Wolfpack a nine to six lead after the first quarter.
The second quarter play of the Wolfpack helped build an eight-point lead at intermission. EPPJ scored the first seven points of the quarter to take a 16 to 6 lead. Nikki Beckman had three points in the run, all coming on free throws.
Riverside got baskets from Molly Berger and Fina Choat to cut the lead to eight points at the half.
The teams traded baskets in the third quarter. At the start of the fourth quarter, Riverside cut the Wolfpack’s lead to five points. Jenna Parks answered with five points on two field goals to bump the lead up to 10 points with 6:23 left in the game.
The Wolfpack’s lead grew to 14 points on a free throw from Jill Schindler. They maintained the margin the rest of the game until Choat scored with 31 seconds left to make the final margin of victory 11 points.
Parks led the Wolfpack with 12 points. She was the only Wolfpack player to score in double figures.
The Wolfpack defense forced the Chargers into numerous turnovers in the game. Riverside had 27 turnovers in the game compared to just 12 for the Wolfpack.
First round
Down by 15 points at halftime, the Wolfpack roared back in the second half to defeat Burwell 37 to 33.
EPPJ made less than 33 percent of their field goal attempts in the game (15-46) but found a way to defeat the Lady Longhorns.
Over the final two quarters, the Wolfpack outscored Burwell 27 to eight.
The offense played better in the final two quarters, but the defense was outstanding. In the third quarter, they limited the Lady Longhorns to just three points, and just five points in the fourth quarter.
Leading the scoring parade for the Wolfpack was Liz Selting with 13 points, Parks had nine and Baylee Wemhoff added seven.
Another key statistic in the game was turnovers, Burwell had 24 compared to just 16 for the Wolfpack.
Wolfpack 41, Riverside 30
Wolfpack…………9 9 8 15 — 41
Riverside…………6 4 8 12 — 30
Wolfpack — Liz Selting 1-2 0-0 2, Jenna Parks 3-12 4-7 12, Nikki Beckman 1-5 3-5 5, Lydia Behnk 1-2 0-2 2, Calli Krebs 0-0 0-0 0, Jordan Mescher 3-7 0-0 6, Jill Schindler 4-7 1-3 9, Baylee Wemhoff 1-5 1-2 3, Hayley Stamp 1-3 0-0 2. Team totals: 14-43 9-19 41. Three-point shots: Jenna Parks (2).
Riverside team totals: 14-40 1-8 30.
Team statistics: Rebounds — Wolfpack 27 (Jenna Parks 7, Hayley Stamp 6), Riverside 41. Assists — Wolfpack 9 (Jenna Parks 4, Nikki Beckman 3), Riverside 10. Steals Wolfpack 12 (Jenna Parks 6), Riverside 6. Turnovers — Wolfpack 12, Riverside 27.
Wolfpack 37, Burwell 33
Wolfpack………6 4 11 16 — 37
Burwell……….14 11 3 5 — 33
Wolfpack — Liz Selting 5-12 2-5 13, Jenna Parks 4-12 1-2 9, Nikki Beckman 1-4 0-0 2, Jordan Mescher 0-2 0-0 0, Jill Schindler 3-8 0-0 6, Baylee Wemhoff 2-6 2-2 7, Hayley Stamp 0-2 0-3 0. Team totals: 15-46 5-12 37.
Burwell team totals: 13-40 4-5 33.
Team statistics: Rebounds — Wolfpack 30 (Liz Selting 6), Burwell 32. Assists — Wolfpack 9 (Jenna Parks 5), Burwell 9. Steals — Wolfpack 10 (Baylee Wemhoff 3), Burwell 5. Turnovers — Wolfpack 16, Burwell 24.
