It has been a tough first half of the season for a young North Union Warrior boys’ basketball team and things did not get any easier on Friday, Dec. 15 as 5-1 Bishop Garrigan squad came calling in Armstrong.
To make things worse, senior post player Hunter Pierce was home sick with the flu, point guard Riley Bauer was also battling the flu and starting forward Blake Crawmer went down in the first quarter with a knee injury.

North Union defeated West Bend-Mallard by the score of 45-9 in a non-conference wrestling match held at Swea City on Thursday, Dec. 14.  There were just six contested matches in the dual as the home team won four of those bouts.
Angel Martinez won by fall in 0:23 against Logan Studer at 285 pounds while teammate Trevor Kruse earned a pin in 0:56 against Hunter Jergens at 152.

To say what the North Union Warrior girls’ basketball team has accomplished so far this season is an understatement.  In the last 10 days, the green-black-and-silver has beaten three undefeated teams in the league that were ranked.
The Warriors, ranked 15th in Class 2A in the latest rankings by the Iowa Girls Athletic Union, defeated Bishop Garrigan 64-41 in a game between the last two unbeaten squads in the Top of Iowa Conference at Armstrong on Friday, Dec. 15.
 

Algona won all four matches and took first place at the Martin Family Invitational held in Algona on Saturday, Dec. 9.  Eagle Grove went 3-1 as West Hancock was 2-2, Forest City was 1-3 and North Union was winless in four matches on the day.
Algona topped North Union 57-17 in the first match of the day before defeating Forest City by the count of 57-16.  The Bulldogs also beat Eagle Grove 41-26 and ended the day by defeating West Hancock by the score of 42-26.

Clear Lake out-scored Algona seven to three in overtime to squeeze out a hard-fought 44-40 North Central Conference girls’ basketball contest played at Clear Lake on Friday, Dec. 8.
Both teams’ defenses dominated the opening stanza as the home team led 7-3 at the conclusion of the quarter but Algona fought back to enjoy a narrow 16-13 advantage at halftime.

Collin Bleich nailed a three-pointer late in the game to give the Algona Bulldog boys’ basketball squad an exciting 49-47 North Central Conference victory over the Clear Lake Lions in a contest played at Clear Lake on Friday, Dec. 8.
Neither team could score more than five consecutive points in the see-saw game as the red-and-black garnered its first win of 2017-2018 season on the hardwood.

North Union built a big lead early and cruised to an 80-22 Top of Iowa Conference girls’ basketball victory over the North Iowa Lady Bison in a contest played in Armstrong on Friday, Dec. 1.
The green-black-and-silver scored the first eight points of the game before the Lady Bison drained a three-pointer to get on the scoreboard at 8-3.

Bishop Garrigan remained undefeated on the year with a convincing 85-60, non-conference boys’ basketball victory over the Mason City Newman Knights in a contest played at Mason City on Saturday, Dec. 2.
The black-and-gold connected on 32-of-53 attempts from the floor for 60.3 percent while being successful on 7-of-12 three-point field goal tries for 58.3 percent and sank 14-of-16 free throws for 87.5 percent in the win.

Algona built a big lead early and never looked back in a 67-23, non-conference girls’ basketball victory played on Saturday, Dec. 2 over the Charles City Comets to improve to 2-1 overall on the season.
The red-and-black scored the contest’s first seven points and led 11-2 at the end of the first quarter of play.  The Bulldogs continued to play well in the second frame by out-scoring the visitors 17-4 in the stanza and held a commanding 32-6 advantage at halftime.

Opening the season on the road a long ways from home, the Bishop Garrigan Golden Bear girls’ basketball squad looked impressive in a 71-53 season-opening win over Van Buren Keosauqua.
The game was played on Saturday, Nov. 25 in Cedar Rapids at Coe College as part of Rivalry Saturday as the contest featured two teams that were each ranked 14th in the opening rankings in their respective classes of 1A and 2A.

The 14th-ranked Algona Bulldog girls’ basketball team built a huge first-half lead on some torrid shooting and cruised to its first victory of the 2017-2018 season with a 63-48 win over the Estherville-Lincoln Central Midgettes in a game played on Monday, Nov. 27 at Estherville.

Estherville-Lincoln Central defeated a cold-shooting Algona Bulldog boys’ basketball squad by the score of 42-33 in the season opener for both teams played at Estherville on Monday, Nov. 27.
The red-and-black had a good first quarter but struggled after that as the squad hit just 13-of-41 overall field goals for 31.7 percent, made 3-of-18 attempts behind the three-point arc and connected on 4-of-10 free throws for 40 percent.

Estherville-Lincoln Central defeated a cold-shooting Algona Bulldog boys’ basketball squad by the score of 42-33 in the season opener for both teams played at Estherville on Monday, Nov. 27.
The red-and-black had a good first quarter but struggled after that as the squad hit just 13-of-41 overall field goals for 31.7 percent, made 3-of-18 attempts behind the three-point arc and connected on 4-of-10 free throws for 40 percent.

Estherville-Lincoln Central defeated a cold-shooting Algona Bulldog boys’ basketball squad by the score of 42-33 in the season opener for both teams played at Estherville on Monday, Nov. 27.
The red-and-black had a good first quarter but struggled after that as the squad hit just 13-of-41 overall field goals for 31.7 percent, made 3-of-18 attempts behind the three-point arc and connected on 4-of-10 free throws for 40 percent.

Molly McCauley made a lay-up from the left side of the lane just before the final buzzer to give the Algona Bulldog girls’ basketball team a thrilling 66-64 victory over the West Hancock Eagles.
The contest featured a pair of teams that were ranked in the initial rankings that came out on Friday as West Hancock started the year ranked number six in Class 1A while the Bulldogs started the 2016-2017 campaign as the 14th ranked team in Class 3A.