Seniro Jazmyne Roberts surveys the court while being defended closely. Meskwaki fell in the game to Don Bosco by a schore of 53-37. News Herald Photo/Drake Cherveny

With a win drought that’s now reached over one month, the Lady Warriors looked to pull off a massive upset when they hosted Don Bosco (10-7) on Friday, January 22nd. Unfortunately, despite a 23 point fourth quarter, Meskwaki fell short by a score of 53-37.

Starters for the Lady Warriors were as follows: Grace Tahahwah, Abigail Iron Shell, Delecia Guevara, Jazmyne Roberts, and Kailee Pushetonequa.

The Dons countered with a lineup of: Kindra Welter, Rachel Schmit, Hanna Halverson, Erin McFadden, and Lauren Becker.

After a (12-11) 2014-15 season some would say the Dons have been a bit of a disappointment this season. Despite returning a trio of talented seniors, only one has shown offensive improvement since last season. Erin McFadden boasts a height and size combination that makes her arguably the best center in the conference. McFadden has seen her numbers jump significantly from (8.4 ppg) in 2014-15 to (11.7 ppg) in 2015-16. However, the increased reliance on McFadden has actually hurt the production from her supporting cast. Point guard Hanna Halverson has seen her numbers drop from shooting 39% from the field to just 23% in a years time. While Lauren Becker’s numbers are almost identical to last season’s with no huge improvements. However, despite the decreased production from their returning starters, Don Bosco notched an upset win over Colo-Nesco on January 15th that tied the two teams for the conference lead. If only GMG had gotten the message as the Wolverines dropped the Dons just four days later.

Now, with a team fresh off a disappointing loss to a .500 GMG squad and a team struggling to a tune of a seven game losing streak the game was underway. The Dons looked like a team on a mission early on as Lauren Becker led the way for all scorers with seven first quarter points. Meskwaki limited the damage with contributions from four players to bring the deficit to 15-9 after one.

The second quarter is where the wheels began to fall off for the Lady Warriors as their struggles on offense continued. Four points was all the team could muster up in the frame while the Dons put up 15 more points headlined by Hanna Halverson. McFadden’s presence down low caused the Lady Warriors to bottle up on the block leaving shooting opportunities on the perimeter for Halverson and Welter who took full advantage of it.

Just when things couldn’t seem to get any worse, they did. A Jazmyne Roberts free throw was all the offense Meskwaki could produce in the entire third quarter of play. The Dons however remained calm and steady with 14 more points spread across to six different players.

With the game well in hand, Don Bosco emptied their bench to start the fourth quarter. Much like the North Tama game, the Lady Warriors made another late rally to make things interesting down the stretch. Leading scorer Grace Tahahwah was held to just five points in the first three frames when she responded by dropping 11 in convincing fashion in the fourth. Marcelena Guevara also got in on the action with six points. The Dons saw their lead evaporate to almost single digits when they brought Halverson and Becker back into the game to finish the deal.

The loss dropped Meskwaki to a record of (2-14) on the season. The team will hit the road for a 6:30 p.m. game at Tripoli (11-4) on Friday, January 29th. The game will mark the first of four road games with a final home game lodged in between against East Marshall (2-13) on Thursday, February 4th. Seniors: Kailee Pushetonequa, Marcelena Guevara, Jazmyne Roberts, Sara Ikebe, Kredence Clark, and Shi’Ann Ducheneaux will be honored before that game for senior night. Following an imposing pair of games at Tripoli and Grundy Center (15-1), Meskwaki will face a duo of struggling teams in East Marshall and CAL, Latimer (0-16) before finishing the regular season at AGWSR (7-7). Until then, the scoring leaders for this game were as follows: Tahahwah (16), M. Guevara (6), D. Guevara (4), Pushetonequa (4), Roberts (3), Lasley (2), and L.Guevara (2).