The Lady Dragons saw a stacked week of games as they played through week two of their winter season schedule.  Competing against 4A American Falls and state contenders Melba and Parma all in one week was a feat in itself.  Going three and zero on the weeks’ games was certainly a great achievement.  But completely dominating each of those games was a statement.  

Wednesday, November 20, the Lady Dragons traveled to American Falls to face off against the Beavers in their first matchup of the season.  Having played them in the offseason, Malad knew that this was going to be an uptempo game against a number of players that would have to be completely shut down if they were to have a chance to win.

It took a few minutes for the MHS team to get rolling, but once they did, they could hardly be stopped.  In the opening quarter, the Lady Dragons put up 20 points to the Beavers 9.  Moving into the second quarter, American Falls began to find some success as they worked the ball inside to the block.  But with some halftime adjustments, Malad’s defense locked down the inside game to go 25-12 in the third quarter.

Not only did the Lady Dragons keep the Beavers from a first shot attempt, they deterred any chance of a second shot attempt as they outrebounded their opponents 37-8.  Liv Nelson led the charge rebounding with 13 total.  Mady VanBebber and Brynnlee Jones added 6 more each.  Jones led the team with 16, followed by Mikell Keetch with 14 and Izzy Haycock with 11 to beat American Falls 58-42.

The Lady Dragons opened a doubleheader weekend hosting the Melba Mustangs on Friday, November 15.  The Mustang women’s basketball program came with a reputation of developing a number of college athletes over the years.  Included in their 2024-2025 team is another potential D-I athlete that was sure to bring trouble for the Lady Dragons.

Coming into the game prepared and confident, Malad stepped up to play in a way that they hadn’t yet that season.  Over the four period game, the Mustangs never put up more than 8 points in a single quarter.  The clamp down MHS defense hardly allowed any scoring opportunities, while also forcing 7 turnovers.  Of the 23 points Melba scored in the game, 10 of those were from the free throw line.

Keetch started the scoring for the Lady Dragons, driving into the key to put up a floater nearly a minute and half into the game.  Haycock added two more from the free throw line after a blocking foul committed by Melba on a lay in drive.  At the other end of the court, Malad forced turnover after turnover as they anticipated the incoming pass to the high post, forcing the point guard to lose the ball in the back court, or pressuring a pass out of bounds.

The scoring really took off midway through the second quarter as Jones hit back to back 3’s followed by an easy block shot plus the follow up free throw.  The Lady Dragons jumped right back into the game as they began the second half to end the third quarter 60-21.  With such a commanding lead, the clock ran the remaining quarter of the game.  Despite the quick moving time, Malad still added another 12 points to their score while holding Melba to only one more score, ending the game 72-23.

Saturday afternoon, the Lady Dragons ended their week of games by hosting the Parma Panthers.  The Panthers finished their season by taking fourth place in the 4A state tournament and look to have just as promising a season again.

Parma jumped to the lead in a minute into the game, going up 5-0.  Not concerned by the gap on the scoreboard, the Lady Dragons quickly took back the lead with foul shots by Jones, Nelson and VanBebber and put back block shot by VanBebber.  With lock down defense happening at both ends of the court, scoring opportunities were few for both teams but the Malad managed to pull to a small 12-5 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Keetch hit a deep corner three pointer off of a baseline drive by Haycock to get the scoring for the Lady Dragons in the second quarter.  As the quarter wore on, the Panthers set up into a tough full court trapping press.  The defense did little to keep Malad from moving the ball down the court and instead, giving them additional scoring opportunities as they quickly moved the ball to the open block. 

The defense continued to dominate the game as they moved into the second half.  The Malad offense had to work for every opportunity to make any gains on the scoreboard.  Executing their offense became the priority to create those openings at the hoop.  The Panthers weren’t willing to give up an easy basket, but the Lady Dragons still managed to put up 16 points to their 13.

Down to the final quarter of the game, Malad knew it was far from over despite their 42-28 lead.  The Panthers had accrued a number fouls throughout the game, forcing them to pull off their full court pressure.  The Lady Dragons began driving to the hoop with greater intent, creating openings to kick back to for the shot.  With the drive and dish offense working for them, Parma became even more desperate to close the gap on the scoreboard.  But the Malad defense didn’t skip a beat as their high pressure defense forced rushed shots and poor passes. 

Having control of the pace of the game, the Lady Dragons slowed things down to extend their possession time and limit the Panther’s.  Their discipline and execution throughout the remaining minutes of the game secured their win, 56-40.

Starting the season with such tough competition may have seemed like a challenging beginning, but it was just the challenge the Lady Dragons needed to get their season off the ground.  Forced to play high level basketball, Malad has seen just what it will take to have the successful season
they want.

Head Coach Trevor Jones said, “These girls have talent and a special chemistry between them.  We know they can do great things, but it’s up to them.  We know we can accomplish great things this season, we just have to go after it.  I think we are just beginning to see what they are capable of doing.”

The Lady Dragons will next play Marsh Valley on Tuesday, November 26 before pausing for the Thanksgiving holiday. 

MHS @ American Falls

Wednesday, November 20, 2024

   1 2 3 4 T

MHS  20 12 25 1 58

American Falls  7 14 12 9 42

# Name PTS REB AST STL BLK

2 Kiley Miller 4 3 4 3 0

4 Teagan Daniels 1 1 0 1 0

5 Brynnlee Jones 16 3 1 0 0

10 Izzy Haycock 11 6 4 1 0

11  Mikell Keetch 14 4 1 2 0

12 Paityn Ward 0 1 0 0 0

14 Mady VanBebber 10 6 1 0 0

24 Liv Nelson 2 13 0 0 1

TEAM TOTALS 58 37 11 7 1

MHS vs Melba

Friday, November 22, 2024

1 2 3 4 T

Melba 8 7 6 2 23

MHS  17 26 17 12 72

# Name PTS REB AST STL BLK

2 Kiley Miller 2 1 2 4 0

4 Teagan Daniels 1 1 1 2 0

5 Brynnlee Jones 23 5 1 0 0 

10 Izzy Haycock 10 4 1 2 0

11  Mikell Keetch 9 3 2 0 0

12 Paityn Ward 11 1 2 2 0

14 Mady VanBebber 10 8 0 2 0

15 Braylin Beutler 0 0 0 1 0

24 Liv Nelson 6 12 0 0 1

TEAM TOTALS 72 35 9 13 1

MHS vs Parma

Saturday, November 23, 2024

1 2 3 4 T

Parma 5 10 13 12 40

MHS  12 14 16 14 56

# Name PTS REB AST STL BLK 

2 Kiley Miller 2 4 6 2 0 

4 Teagan Daniels 2 0 0 1 0 

5 Brynnlee Jones 13 7 0 0 0 

10 Izzy Haycock 9 3 6 3 0 

11 Mikell Keetch 11 5 2 9 0 

14 Mady VanBebber 6 5 0 1 0 

24 Liv Nelson 13 11 0 1 1 

TEAM TOTALS 56 35 14 17 1