Boys Hit Their Stride With Another Big Win - This Time Over Monterey
On December 9, 2024, the Wartburg Bulldogs basketball teams travelled across time zones to visit Monterey High School for a night of basketball. It started with a Girls JV victory. The Girls JV hasn't had a ton of opportunities so far this season, so they made the most of their chance in Monterey beating Monterey's JV handily. Up next was the Lady Bulldogs Varsity. After looking smooth to start the season, they fell a little flat in this contest. They had a major come-from-behind victory in their first matchup in November - but lost this one in Overtime 43-36. Finally the boys took the floor. They were coming off a major blowout victory against the Oakdale Eagles - and they came into this one just as hot. They held the Monterey boys scoreless for almost the entire first quarter, going into the second quarter up 13-4. While their lead would ebb and flow between as much as 20 and as little as 5 - they ultimately had a command and control of this one - winning easily 58-50. Here are some of the notable notes:
Cheerleaders Create a Cheer-Ocracy
The Wartburg cheerleaders always bring plenty of volume and a feeling of joy for the games. At Monterey, seemingly a much larger school, the Wartburg cheerleaders outnumbered the Monterey cheerleaders by a count of 2 to 1. Maybe it was the side of the gym I was on - or maybe it was my Wartburg bias - but our cheer squad TOOK OVER in the cheer department. I didn't hear Monterey - and I sort of forgot they were there. One of the cheerleaders to highlight - Keyra "Little Foot" Bales. One of my favorite movies as a child was The Land Before Time, which told the story of a group of adolescent dinosaurs just trying to make their way through a difficult time. The main character's name was Little Foot. Bales has been sporting a gigantic walking boot for most of the season - but has shown up and given it her all regardless. It was nice to see her on the sidelines with a small brace instead of the big boot - but she always has a big smile and an even bigger heart! Great work Cheerleaders!
Toughness and Grit on Display for the Ladies
The ladies showed grit and determination. It was a game when things just weren't falling - shots were bricking - and things were a little... dare I say it... higglety-pigglety... But the girls took this one into overtime with some last minute grit. One random thing that stood out to me from our ladies was the toughness. I saw it happen twice. The first time was "Ballistic" Banner Brown. When the freshman Brown is on the floor, the arms are up, the mouthguard is in, and she bounces all over the floor on defense. She's the picture of intensity as a defender - and even knocked down a nice three-pointer in this one. What really stood out to me though - was she got banged around pretty hard on one play. You could tell she was hurting and dazed... but she immediately looked to the sidelines - gave two thumbs up to the coach - and begged to stay on the floor. Then, the second time was on the tail end of the game with Speedy-Ann Williams. She plays hard all game - and never looks to wear out. But she took an elbow to the gut with the game on the line and looked to be seriously in jeopardy. Much like her freshman teammate, the senior immediately looked to the sideline, gave two thumbs up to the coach, as if to say, "PLEASE don't take me out." Williams is all heart on the court!
The Joker Strikes Again
The Lady Bulldogs had been trailing all game, and things just weren't falling for the most part. With some late adjustments to the lineup, freshman Jordyn "The Joker" Pemberton found herself inserted into the lineup for the first time of the night with 2 minutes to go and down by 6. Some may have thought the game was over, and that it was time to just ride this one to the finish line... but they forgot to let the Joker know. She came in and found herself in position to score a season-high 4 points in those last 2 minutes - catapulting the Bulldogs back into a tie. This would lead them into overtime and give them a second chance to win the game. Although it didn't pan out for the win - Pemberton is playing with the poise of an upperclassman. Great work Joker!
Victim of His Own Success
Photo credit to long-time girlfriend and veteran Lady Bulldog Olivia "Gotcha" Davis... and Bro Credit to teammate Wreck it Ralph Lucas Wilson for reaching over and fixing "Captain" Landon Quinney's seating arrangement after this photo was taken. Quinney is what I like to call a Victim of his own success when it comes to writing these articles. You see, the things that get written about are normally the things that stand out. The boy has a 3.85 GPA, a college offer from Eastern Kentucky, numerous records and accolades from his athletic achievements, and he goes out and gets it done every... single... game... He's second on the team in scoring so far this season with 57 points through 7 games, and he's one of only 4 Bulldogs that have scored in every single game of the season - never falling below 5 points. He gets tons of rebounds and assists - and is one of the best at taking a charge. The problem - and it's hard to call this a problem - is that when you are consistently good, it doesn't get talked about as much... it's just expected. Expected or not - The Captain played a great, relaxed game of basketball last night - scoring 8... and maybe the best part... he looked like he was having fun doing it! Don't ever lose your love of the game - and don't ever take for granted the joy of getting to play and be such a key cog in this machine that is Wartburg basketball. We salute you Captain! Great work!
Lawson Curry?
If I had asked you to bet on a Bulldog player to be hot from three-point range against Monterey... who had their money on Johnny "Green Bean" Bingham? He had a couple of nice ones... You might have even placed a wager on Paxton "Man Hands" Quinney... he also had a couple. But whoever put their money on Lawson Swint may have proven themselves to be an oracle. Swint is not often known for shooting from distance as he's normally down low duking it out with the bigs. But against Monterey, he fired up threes with regularity. I could've sworn he hit three of them... but the stat sheet doesn't lie - and has him tied with Green Bean and Man Hands... They had two-a-piece - and Swint totaled 12 points - putting him 2nd only to leading scorer Ian Robinson's 13.
One Lesson to Never Forget...
In the game against Monterey, the Bulldogs got out to a VERY commanding lead. Now, they did allow Monterey to tighten the lead up to single digits later in the game, but it was never a question - Wartburg was the dominant team in this away game. One player on the opposing side was seen pulling out the finger guns every time he hit a shot... Bulldogs, please never forget this... It's never an appropriate time to bring out the finger guns... We learned this in the 1996 film Happy Gilmore. Shooter McGavin was known for his finger guns - and it never looks as cool as you think it's going to look. Just let your basketball shooting do the talking and holster those puppies during the games. The scoreboard is the biggest flex - and wins are the best stat.
Sneaker Showcase
Any real sneakerhead knows that footwear isn't only important on the court - it's also important pre-game! I'm looking at Landon "The Captain" Quinney once again in today's Sneaker Showcase. Quinney was seen sporting the North Face Men's ThermoBall Traction Mule V Slippers in a black colorway pregame which paired well with the slick Wartburg warm-ups that are also all black. If you are a Wartburg player reading this, and you have a special sneaker that you'd like featured in the next Sneaker Showcase - let me know!
The Sneaker Showcase is brought to you by:
The Sneaker Showcase is brought to you by:
SneakerBurg: Making Wartburg, TN the Sneaker Capital of the World... One Pair at a Time!"
After last week's Oakdale game, we asked for your responses... promising a SneakerBurg shirt to the 4th and 14th responders... and a special Christmas surprise if we got to 20. As of Monday morning, we had 13 respondents... and I wasn't sure how to proceed... But my man Evan "Clutch" Crouch comes up Clutch as the 14th responder yesterday evening! So... to Athletic Director Kyle Ryans (4th) and Evan "Clutch" Crouch (14th)... look for a free SneakerBurg t-shirt and a box of Little Debbie Christmas Tree cakes each at tonight's ball game! Thanks for playing along!
We have a busy week of basketball this week... We have:
12/10 - Basketball at home against Midway (JV girls, Girls Varsity, Boys Varsity)
12/13 - Basketball at home against Oliver Springs (JV boys, Girls Varisty, Boys Varsity)
12/14 - JV Tournament (Scott High)
12/10 - Basketball at home against Midway (JV girls, Girls Varsity, Boys Varsity)
12/13 - Basketball at home against Oliver Springs (JV boys, Girls Varisty, Boys Varsity)
12/14 - JV Tournament (Scott High)
Go Check Out Tara B Photography!
Here is a preview and a link to just a few of the awesome game shots you'll find at Tara B Photography!
AI-Driven Podcast?
It's a weird world we are in - no doubt - but Chris Rogers has figured out a way to take these game re-caps and turn out a really unique AI-driven podcast. Give last week's game from Oakdale a listen - and I think you'll be impressed:
Check it out here
You can look forward to this additional bit of fun for each write up moving forward... Thanks Chris!
Check it out here
You can look forward to this additional bit of fun for each write up moving forward... Thanks Chris!