The Roland-Story Norsemen basketball teams returned to action on Friday night, as they made the trip east on Highway 30 to take on the West Marshall Trojans in their Heart of Iowa Conference opener at West Marshall High School in State Center. The Roland-Story girls entered at 2-0, while the Norsemen boys entered at 1-0.
Roland-Story’s girls looked to upend a West Marshall team that swept them en route to a conference title a season ago, and the Norsemen got a great start, leading 13-5 after the first quarter. The Trojans would bounce back in the 2nd quarter behind solid defense, but trailed 19-14 at the halftime break. The offenses would trade blows in the 3rd quarter, with West Marshall outscoring the Norsemen 23-19 to trail 38-37 after the 3rd. However, Roland-Story’s defense clamped down in the 4th quarter, holding the Trojans to 5 points in the frame to claim a 49-42 win. Matilde Motta led Roland-Story with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Elizabeth Ihle and Claire Truesdell each finished with 9 points. Bella Borgos had a game-high 27 points for West Marshall.
The boys game followed as Roland-Story looked to build off their triple overtime win against Gilbert. The first quarter would be a tight one, with the Norsemen leading 13-10, but Darrin Berggren’s squad managed to push the lead to 29-23 at halftime. The 2nd half saw the Roland-Story offense come to life, outscoring the Trojans 26-12 in the 3rd quarter to lead 55-35 and kept the pace in the 4ht quarter en route to a 74-44 win. Jonovan Wilkinson finished with 28 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, while Boaz Clark finished with 12 points. Noah Desotel had a team-high 15 points for West Marshall.
Roland-Story returns to action on Tuesday, when they host Perry in Heart of Iowa Conference action at Roland-Story High School in Story City at 6 PM.