State-ranked Mustangs gallop past trio of HOIAC foes

MONROE — When PCM head girls basketball coach Sami Allison-Rodriguez asked Tori Lindsay a simple question at the end of the third quarter on Thursday, the Mustang junior pretended to know what her coach was talking about.

“She asked me if I knew. I jokingly said I did know, but really I had no idea,” Lindsay said. “I knew I was close though.”

Lindsay did not know exactly where she stood at that point but thought she was close to a school record.

And it didn’t take Lindsay long to snatch it as her 3-pointer to start the final frame against Perry put her into the record books for most 3s in a season in school history.

It was the only drama in the game really as the Class 3A No. 9 Mustangs dominated from the opening tip during a 57-10 home win over the Bluejays in a Heart of Iowa Athletic Conference contest.

“We have some sickness we’re going through so I’m just proud of the way we played,” Allison-Rodriguez said. “Sometimes it’s hard to get better in these kind of games, but I thought we did.”

It was the Mustangs’ seventh straight win. They won their eighth consecutive game against Nevada on Friday, and PCM is averaging 63 points per game during that stretch after scoring 52 points per game in the first 11 contests.

PCM also scored at least 57 points in all eight games and is now averaging 56.8 points per game this winter, which ranks ninth in 3A.

The Mustangs (17-2, 13-1 in the HOIAC) scored the first 11 points of the game and led 23-5 after one quarter.

“We’ve got everyone confident, they know their roles and when they should shoot,” Allison-Rodriguez said. “It’s a lot of green lights to go around. And if someone only gets four points and we win, they‘re all happy with that.”

Addison Steenhoek, Kyra Naeve and Kenna Grier all made a 3 in the first quarter and Lindsay buried a pair from downtown. Libby Winters also scored twice from inside the lane.

PCM swelled its lead to 37-5 at halftime after outscoring the Bluejays 12-0 in the second.

Lindsay and Milani connected on 3s in the frame. Milani scored seven of her nine points in the second, and the Mustangs finished 11-of-29 from 3 in the victory.

“We are way more aggressive right now,” said Lindsay, who was 4-of-8 from 3. “We’ve experimented with a lot of things and now we’re finally getting dialed in. It’s go time with the postseason nearing, and we have a big conference game next week. We’re really going after it to get ours.”

PCM won the third 9-2 and extended its lead to 46-7. Naeve opened the frame with a trey and Winters ended it with back-to-back buckets inside.

Lindsay was inserted back into the game in a blowout to start the fourth to take a shot at the school record. She didn’t need a lot of time as she took the first open shot within the offense and sunk it from long range.

It was her school-record 52nd triple of the season. The previous record holder was Regan Freland, who made 51 treys her sophomore season in 2017-18.

Grier added to the distance parade later in the fourth with two more treys. She scored nine points and grabbed three boards off the bench.

“I didn’t think there was a lot of let up from our bench players when they came in, which was great to see,” Allison-Rodriguez said. “Our starters are obviously great scorers, but I challenged those reserves to look to score in the fourth. That group needs to want to score. Someone has to shoot it, but they are so unselfish. If you’re open, shoot the ball.”

Lindsay led a balanced offensive attack with 12 points and five assists. She’s shooting 47 percent from 3 this winter, which ranks fourth in 3A.

“My confidence has gone up some and when you make them, it’s natural to just keep shooting,” Lindsay said. “I was going to go back in only if she let me. I didn’t want to force a shot. But if it’s open like it was, I have no problem shooting it.”

Winters totaled 10 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals, Milani tallied nine points and five steals, Naeve registered six points and two assists and Steenhoek chipped in five points, three rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Grier led the reserves, but Katelynn Fagg grabbed two boards and two assists, Rebecca De Vries corralled four rebounds and Holly Wood pulled down three boards off the bench.

PCM shot 47.8 percent from the floor, sunk 2-of-6 from the free-throw line and committed 15 turnovers. The Mustangs grabbed 11 offensive rebounds.

“We are shooting well, moving the ball well and just keep improving at that end of the floor,” Allison-Rodriguez said.

PCM scored its sixth straight win over Perry (4-13, 2-11), which fell to 1-13 after starting the season 3-0.

Notes: PCM’s 124 made 3s rank sixth in 3A. … Steenhoek set a single-game school record with seven treys earlier this season and her cousin broke the single-season school record on Thursday. “I think she’s just shooting it more,” Allison-Rodriguez said. “I have been asking her to shoot it more. Her shot looks so smooth right now. Whether it’s practice, warmups or in the game, I think every shot she takes is going in. The reason why she wasn’t scoring as much early in the season is she loves to get her teammates involved and she’s super unselfish, which is a great problem to have.” … Jorja Teeter missed the first 16 games with an injury sustained before the season. Teeter debuted in the team’s win over Grand View Christian on Tuesday, but her minutes were extended against the Bluejays. “We’ll take it slow and see how she feels,” Allison-Rodriguez said. “She was just released to full contact this week. If we have her full by the end of the year, that’s a bonus. It’s good to have her out there.” … The 17 wins for PCM are the most since the Mustangs finished 20-5 in 2016-17. ... Of the three players ahead of Lindsay in 3A in 3-point percentage, two of them have taken fewer than 32 attempts.

PCM 61, Nevada 27

NEVADA — Milani put in a career-high 18 points, Winters scored 17 and the Mustangs used a fast start and a monster third frame to down Nevada, 61-27, on Friday in HOIAC action.

PCM grabbed 20 offensive rebounds, made 6-of-18 from 3 and scored 13 points from the foul line.

“It’s fun to play for this team,” Milani said. “We’re all talented players who get a long really well.”

Nevada (8-11, 8-5) leads the all-time series 23-10, but PCM clinched its fourth straight against the Cubs.

The Mustangs led 12-4 after one and outscored Nevada 26-5 in the third.

Winters had 17 points, eight rebounds, two assists, three steals and two blocks to lead the Mustangs, and Milani collected a career-high 18 points and corralled four rebounds.

Milani found her shot from outside, matching a season high with four made 3s. It was the fifth time she hit multiple 3s in a game this season and the fifth time reaching double digits in points.

“My shot has been pretty off, but I try to find other ways to score,” Milani said. “I also need to shoot through it and make sure I play defense at the other end, too.”

Steenhoek also scored in double-figures. She had 14 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals and now has 998 career points.

Lindsay totaled five points, five rebounds, three assists and seven steals, Naeve added five points, four boards and two assists and De Vries grabbed four rebounds off the bench. Reserves Teeter and Grier each pulled down three boards, too.

PCM shot 40.4 percent from the floor, made 13-of-21 from the free-throw line and turned the ball over 14 times.

PCM 72, Grand View Christian 35

MONROE — The Mustangs scored 20 points or more in three of the four quarters and put in a season-best output during a 72-35 home win over Grand View Christian on Tuesday.

PCM stayed unbeaten against the Thunder since 2018, made nine 3s and swiped 14 steals in the HOIAC victory.

Lindsay, Winters and Steenhoek all scored in double figures to lead the Mustangs.

Winters led the way with 17 points, nine rebounds, five assists, three steals and three blocks and Lindsay totaled 17 points, eight boards and three assists.

Steenhoek contributed 12 points, two assists and five steals, Milani tallied five points, two rebounds and two assists and Naeve registered three points and three steals.

De Vries and Grier led the bench players with seven points and three rebounds and seven points and two rebounds, respectively.

PCM shot 44 percent from the floor, made 9-of-26 from 3 and buried 9-of-11 from the foul line. The Mustangs turned the ball over only seven times.

The Mustangs led the Thunder (8-10, 5-9) 22-10 after one, won the second 21-10 and dominated the third 20-5.