Local teams find success in early season tournaments

By Morgan Guyer

The final games of the Platte Valley Invitational and the Albany and Savannah Tournaments took place on December 1-2, with some Nodaway County teams taking home trophies.

Nodaway Valley, North Nodaway and Northeast Nodaway all had games on December 1 in Bearcat Arena to wrap up the PVI.

The Lady Mustangs and the Bluejays girls teams started things off with a double-overtime thriller to decide third place. Northeast Nodaway Junior Hadley DeFreece hit the go-ahead three pointer as time expired to give them the 48-45 victory. It was a back and forth game, and it helped kick off a good night of basketball in Maryville. The Nodaway Valley boys team followed against Stewartsville in the boys third place game, and fell 50-38.

The Nodaway Valley girls had more success however, defeating St. Joseph Christian 52-48 to take home the Platte Valley Invitational title. It was revenge for last season when the same two teams met in the same title match. With all of their key players returning from last season, the Thunder are poised for an improved year. In the boys game, North Nodaway lost to St. Joseph Christian 51-75, and took home second place, as the Mustangs have started well so far.

The Maryville boys have started the season hot as well, winning the Savannah Tournament on December 1 by defeating Kearney 62-47. The Spoofhounds faced some tough competition in Savannah, but it was a test that they have passed early on this season as they look to compete for the MEC conference title.

Both the girls and boys Platte Valley teams swept the Albany Invitational once again as they did last year, taking home first place trophies on December 2. The girls won 61-37 over Princeton, while the boys won 62-39 over Princeton as well.