Turnovers plague Baxter girls in loss to Dunkerton

BAXTER — Baxter head girls’ basketball coach Kyle Krampe knows what he has in all-conference guard Emie Tuhn.

It’s the rest of the roster the coaching staff is trying to solve and after losing a starter recently, things got a bit tougher for the Bolts.

Tuhn did all she could in the first half to keep the Bolts close, but Dunkerton was just too much during a 75-41 road win over Baxter on Friday night.

The Raiders won the Iowa Star Conference cross-division matchup with a fast start and by forcing a plethora of Baxter turnovers.

“We’re still learning about basketball and what to do with the basketball. We had way too many turnovers tonight,” Krampe said. “We have to learn how to be comfortable with basketball in our hands other than Emie.”

Dunkerton led 10-0 and 17-2 in the first quarter. The Bolts trailed by 17 after one and not even Tuhn’s 14 first-half points could keep Baxter within 20 at halftime.

Tuhn put the Bolts on the board with a steal and layup midway through the first and then buried a 3-pointer minutes later.

She added three triples in the second, but Baxter trailed 42-20 at halftime. She scored the team’s first 11 points and then had a pair of assists to Callie Cross and Avery Wonders before burying her final trey of the half.

The Raiders start just one senior, but the youngsters were tough to stop, too. Tuhn made four free throws early in the third, but Dunkerton opened the second half on a 10-4 run.

Denver Sulzle scored back-to-back buckets for the Bolts and then Lydia Pierce scored five in a row during a Bolts’ 12-2 run later in the third. The home team still trailed 60-36 after three.

“There’s really good glimpses of things, but we don’t always know how to cut on offense,” Krampe said. “We need to back cut and continue to cut. It’s not natural yet.

“Defensively, we get lost on rotations a few times. We have to fight through those things. We work on it. We’ll continue to work in practice.”

The Raiders (7-4) won the fourth 15-5. Tuhn added two more assists on passes to Wonders and Pierce made a free throw. But it wasn’t near enough to close the gap.

“They started applying more ball pressure to Emie in the second half and she found open girls,” Krampe said. “We have to trust our teammates in that spot and she did. She gave them opportunities. She’s one of the best passers in the area.”

Krampe found out earlier in the day that the team will be without starting guard Karlee Koehler for about a month. She’s the team’s second-best player when she’s on the floor.

“It hurts. She’s a big part of what we do and has the basketball knowledge to understand what we are trying to do,” Krampe said. “I was really proud of the girls who played tonight. We’ve preached effort and playing hard all the time. When you don’t exactly have all the answers and all the knowledge just play hard. Let the other things fall where they fall. They competed in this one. They didn’t quit.”

The Bolts (2-7) finished with 32 turnovers and shot only 32.6 percent from the floor. They made 6-of-20 from 3 and connected on 5-of-9 from the free-throw line.

Tuhn finished with 18 points, six assists and five steals to lead the way, while Kendall Brummel added four points, six rebounds, two assists and three steals and Wonders tallied six points, five boards and two assists.

Sulzle registered five points and four rebounds, Pierce chipped in six points and two rebounds and Hannah Huffaker posted two rebounds and two steals.

Janesville 57, Baxter 40

JANESVILLE — Tuhn scored more than half of the team’s points and the Bolts swiped 18 steals, but Baxter was plagued by 30 turnovers and a tough shooting night during a 57-40 road loss to Janesville on Tuesday.

The Bolts got off to a slow start and never recovered during the Iowa Star Conference cross-division matchup.

Baxter trailed 14-5 after one quarter and was outscored 14-6 in the second. The Bolts and Wildcats each scored 29 points in the second half.

Tuhn finished with 25 points, eight rebounds, three assists and a career-high nine steals.

Brummel tallied four points, nine rebounds, two assists and five steals, Koehler put in nine points and Wonders added two rebounds and two steals. Huffaker grabbed two boards.

The Bolts shot 33.3 percent from the floor, made 4-of-21 from 3 and connected on 8-of-21 from the foul line.

Dani Hughes led the Wildcats (4-6) with nine points and 13 rebounds, Keke Smith had 13 points and five boards and Liz Hovenga put in 11 points. Janesville turned the ball over 27 times.