LAYUP TIME — North Union guard Lily Henderson (4) connects for a layup as Warrior teammate Vanessa Von Bank watches the basket during Top of Iowa Conference action Thursday night in Armstrong. Von Bank went on to score 20 points to pace the Warriors’ win over North Iowa. (Photo by Greg Abel)

ARMSTRONG — North Union’s girls basketball team won its 10th game of the season behind a trap defense that netted 33 steals en route to a 77-18 rout over the North Iowa Bison during Top of Iowa Conference action Thursday night in Armstrong.

Vanessa Von Bank scored 20 points on the strength of five 3-pointers and teammate Sam Nielsen added 14 points, five rebounds and three steals to lead the Warriors to their lopsided victory.

“We’ve been trying to find a team that we feel we can put some pressure on and we created some turnovers to help us get some offense,” said Warriors’ head coach Merle Tigges. “That’s been one of our strengths just to create some pressure against any team we can.”

Nielsen got Vanessa Von Bank going for the first points of the night by finding the Warriors’ sharpshooter on the wing for a 3-pointer to build the Warriors’ 14-3 first-quarter lead.

Von Bank ended the quarter going 2-of-2 from the 3-point line, while Nielsen scored eight points by effectively getting to the rim.

“We like it when they square up and get good shots and they both were hitting shots,” Tigges said. “(Vanessa) Von Bank is a very capable shooter and she shot some good shots.”

The only basket scored by North Iowa came from a Emma Duve 3-pointer. Along with three missed free-throws, the Bison shot only four shots in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Warriors defense continued to open up scoring opportunities. Libby Stevens opened the quarter with two steals and a driving layup to start a 27-2 run. Minutes later, Stevens found Cassie Beadle for the first of her four 3-pointers.

Nielsen added six more points by getting to the rim and stealing the ball twice in the second quarter. Warriors’ playmaker Lily Henderson dished seven assists, but with two-tenths of a second left on the clock, she drained a 3-pointer with the ball getting the right bounce to give the Warriors a 41-5 lead.

The Warriors denied shots in the paint with two blocks and suffocated the Bison by stealing the ball seven times in the second quarter. The only points for the Bison came when Duve found Leah Kramersmeier for a layup.

Vanessa Von Bank opened the third quarter similar to her play in the first. She scored eight quick points nailing three 3-pointers and a layup to give the Warriors a 52-7 lead. The Bison responded with five of their seven third quarter points when Duve made a layup from a Kramersmeier assist and then Duve returned the favor to Kramersmeier for a 3-pointer making the score 52-12.

The Warriors outscored the Bison 22-7 in the third quarter. Ella Ulrich came off the bench in the fourth quarter and scored six of the Warriors’ 14 fourth-quarter points and stole the ball three times. The Bison added six points to make the final score 77-18.

Tigges stated that North Iowa played much better than they did in its first game and that they did a really good job breaking the press. Tigges added that any win that his team gets is a bonus and they try the best they can.

North Union (10-3) plays host to West Hancock at 6:15 p.m. tonight in Armstrong.

“Tomorrow night’s game will be a lot more physical and they have a nice team West Hancock,” said Tigges. “We haven’t had a game in a while so it was good to get a game in tonight, but we’re a little rusty and I’m sure North Iowa is a little rusty too they hadn’t had a game in a while either. I hope we’re ready to go tomorrow (Friday) night.”

NU 14 27 22 14 — 77

N. Iowa 3 2 7 6 — 18

North Union (77)

O. Von Bank 1-4 0-2 2, V. Von Bank 6-13 3-4 20, Henderson 2-4 0-0 5, Nielsen 7-10 0-0 14, Fraker 0-2 1-2 1, Beadle 4-7 0-0 12, Sandvig 0-2 0-0 0, Ulrich 3-3 0-0 6, Stevens 1-1 0-0 2, Jones 2-6 2-2 6, Meyer 2-4 0-0 5, Merrill 1-1 0-0 2, Engelby 0-2 0-0 0, Charlton 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 30-60 6-10 77.

North Iowa (18)

Duve 3-9 0-3 7, Hofmann 0-2 0-0 0, M. Neenken 0-1 0-0 0, E. Beenken 2-6 0-3 4, Kramersmeier 2-6 0-4 5, Boekelman 1-3 0-1 2, Viergutz 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 8-24 0-11 18.

3-pointers: North Union 11-26 (V. Von Bank 5); North Iowa 1-10 (Kramersmeier 1).

Rebounds: North Union 22 (Nielsen 5); North Iowa 18 (Kramersmeier 10). Assists: North Union 23 (Henderson 7); North Iowa 4 (Kramersmeier 2). Steals: North Union 33 (O. Von Bank 6, Henderson 6); North Iowa 5 (Kramersmeier 2).

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Boys Basketball

North Iowa 69, North Union 62 — Dominyk Price scored 29 points to lead the Bison over the Warriors on Thursday night in Top of Iowa Conference play in Armstrong.

Riley Sabin scored 18 points and Logan Sabin added 12 points for the Bison.

Warriors’ guard Gage Madden scored 24 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Logan Odegaard scored nine points, grabbed six rebounds and dished three assists.

Nick Schiltz led the Warriors with two 3-pointers and finished the game with six points.

The Warriors shot 41 percent overall, 32 percent from the 3-pont line, and 25 percent from the free-throw line.

North Union (1-11) plays host to West Hancock at 7:30 p.m. tonight in Armstrong.