Even though the Valmeyer Pirates have not done well against the New Athens Yellow Jackets recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Thursday. Valmeyer took down New Athens 52-33. Winning is a bit easier when you outrebound your opponent 24 to 14 on the offensive boards, as Valmeyer did.
Valmeyer was led to victory by Kierstin Miller and Brooke Miller. Miller dropped a double-double on 13 points and 18 rebounds, while Miller scored 19 points along with 9 rebounds and 7 steals. That makes it three consecutive games in which Miller has scored at least 25% of Valmeyer's points. Another player making a difference was Avery Proffer, who scored 12 points along with 5 rebounds.
When it comes to explaining why New Athens lost, one person who can't be blamed is Peyton Houser. Despite the final result, she scored 10 points along with 6 rebounds. Houser scored a full 30.3% of New Athens' points, the second time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Mallory Kohnen, who scored 9 points along with 6 rebounds.
Valmeyer's victory bumped their record up to 1-2. As for New Athens, they still haven't won a game yet this season and fell to 0-6.
Valmeyer will be playing at home against Steeleville at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. Hopefully Steeleville focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 13 on Thursday. As for New Athens, they will head out on the road to face off against Trico at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
