Written by Blake Walker, Varsity Bound
It was a battle of the top two squads in the Raccoon River Conference on Tuesday night as the #4th ranked Gilbert Tigers looked for a bounce-back victory against unbeaten, #2 ranked Ballard. The last time the Bombers lost on their home court was all the way back on November 22nd, 2019 to coincidently, Gilbert. The Tigers came into the game on a two-game skid with losses to North Polk and Winterset. Ballard on the other hand came in with a perfect 15-0 record.
The game started quickly with both teams finding easy ways to get to the basket and it really seemed like we would be seeing a game up in the 70s. The first time these two teams met earlier in the season, it was the complete opposite of a high scoring contest as the Bombers pulled out a gritty 39-33 victory. I was really impressed with Ballard’s passing ability early and for it being the first time I’ve watched them all year, I quickly understood why they were unbeaten. After an early timeout, both teams started to defend better and we found ourselves at a 14-8 score to end the 1st quarter with Ballard on top.
The Tigers came out of the quarter break with a strong 5-0 run thanks in hand to some great transition buckets keeping Ballard on their toes. The Bombers then responded with their own 5-0 run and used their potent defense to stay on top throughout the quarter. It’s also worth noting that Ballard is one of the top defensive teams in the state as they average 14 steals per contest. Really impressive. Ballard used the three-pointer to their advantage as they took a 29-20 lead going into the locker room.
Gilbert came out of the locker room and continued to struggle on offense until junior, Ava Hawthorne, started hitting a couple of buckets including a long three to bring the Tigers back within two. Ballard continued to struggle as they didn’t score for the first five minutes of the 3rd quarter due to some uncharacteristic turnovers. Hawthorne came up big again with another three to tie the game at 31. Ballard grabbed a couple of points late to take a 34-31 lead going into the final quarter.
Ballard was on a mission in the fourth quarter as Kelly Anderson’s squad really pushed the ball down low for some hard-earned baskets. As the Bombers continued to score, the Tigers struggled to find baskets as most of their fourth-quarter buckets came from the charity stripe. Ballard continued to pressure Gilbert and forced a couple of turnovers late to pull away and win, 50-42. The win moves Ballard to 16-0 on the season and clinches at least a share of the Raccoon River regular-season title. This Bombers team is dangerous and I doubt anyone wants to face them come tournament time. As for Gilbert, they lose their third straight and fall to 12-4 on the season. I don’t expect much panic for the Tigers though as they still possess a ton of weapons to make a really good state tournament run with Ava Hawthorne leading the ship. Ballard’s next game is on the road at North Polk on February 5th while Gilbert faces another tough test at home against #8th ranked Bondurant-Farrar. I don’t know about you, but I hope we see round three of Ballard versus Gilbert come playoff time.