The ADM girls and boys basketball teams are back in action this afternoon for a doubleheader against Dallas-Center Grimes following a two-week hiatus for Winter Break.
The 3-3 girls are looking to bounce back from a blowout loss at Ballard in their final game before the break against a battle-tested Phillies team. Dallas-Center Grimes, at 4-4 overall, is 1-2 against Raccoon River Conference teams, with a 15-point road win over No. 7 Perry. But the Phillies lost by just one point at No. 6 Carlisle and hung with the undefeated and 4th-ranked Ballard team before falling by 11.
ADM head coach Corey Schneider said the past week of practice over break went well, and that he wants his team to play more consistently on defense and to not rush its half-court sets. Sophomore Sydney Bertman, ADM’s leading scorer at 11.5 points per game, is going for her sixth consecutive game in double figures. The Phillies boast five players that average 6.3 points per game or more, lead by senior Lexi Rosa’s 11.1 points per game on 62 percent shooting.
The ADM boys, meanwhile, are in the midst of a four-game losing streak. Senior Jake Sloss said that he and his teammates are eager to get back out there and put the 1-5 start to the season behind them.
“Yea, we’ve been looking forward for a while,” he said. “We didn’t want to end on that last game at Ballard like that, so we’ve been ready to get back on the court and get some wins.”
That game Sloss referred to is an 84-52 loss to Ballard right before break, which prompted head coach Aaron Mager to put this focus in practice this past week on defense. The Tigers will try to slow down Dallas-Center Grimes senior center Austin Rix, who, at 6-9, presents a considerable matchup issue for an undersized ADM team. He leads the Mustangs in scoring with 15.9 points per game on 72 percent shooting.
DCG is 6-2 overall, with four wins over Raccoon River Conference teams. Our pregame coverage on K107 and raccoonvalleyradio.com begins at 1:15 p.m. The girls game tips at 1:30, and the boys game will follow.