Record-setting night lifts NV girls past Central Decatur

Things looked bleak for the Nodaway Valley girls basketball team last Friday night in their first game back from Christmas break at Central Decatur.

The Wolverines trailed by 19 points with 4:07 left in the third quarter and points were hard to come by. However, a Mylee Comstock 3-pointer with under 10 seconds left in the game capped off a 36-14 run by the Wolverines in the final 12 minutes of the game to pull out a seemingly improbable 61-58 win.

Comstock scored 21 points and tied a school record for made 3-pointers in a game with seven.

“We started the game slow and we were playing as we can, and we came out after halftime and played better,” said Comstock. “Coach is always giving me the green light and he always wants me to keep shooting. I didn’t know how much time we had left. I just knew that we were running out of time. It was a good win for us. It took all of us to pull out the win.”

The Wolverines also saw junior guard Izzy Eisbach collect career point No. 1,000 in the first half and a total 30 points for the game.

Eisbach became the sixth player in program history to top the 1,000-point milestone and is currently sixth on the NV scoring charts with 1,021 points. She joins Lindsay Davis, Maddax DeVault, Josie Clarke, Paige McElfish and Mallory Menefee on the list of those to accomplish the feat.

Eisbach had 14 points at halftime before ending with 16 second-half points. Of those 16, Eisbach had 14 in the pivotal fourth quarter where Nodaway Valley outscored the Cardinals 23-10.

“It is quite an accomplishment, but I am more happy we got the win. Once we got back in the game and got past the first half it was awesome that I got it in this game as it was a special win for us,” said Eisbach. “It’s an honor to be one of only six to get 1,000 points. It’s also neat to be among the POI greats too, there have been some really good players in the conference.”

The last player to hit seven 3-pointers in a game was Whitney Lamb, a 2023 graduate. Comstock has hit 20 triples this season through eight games after making six in all of last season.

Comstock hit a pair of 3-pointers to give the Wolverines an early 6-2 lead, but the Cardinals outscored the Wolverines 15-5 after that to take a 17-11 lead after the first quarter. She was quiet the rest of the half before making five treys in the second half.

The Wolverines trailed 24-14 with 5:45 left before halftime and the Cardinals used an 8-0 going into the lockerroom to lead 34-21.

A Makenna Perkins hoop with 6:01 left in the third gave the Cardinals an 18-point, 39-21 lead, which was their biggest of the game. Baskets by Liv Laughery and Comstock helped the Wolverines trail by only 10, at 48-38, by the end of the quarter.

A 13-4 run over the last four minutes of the game sealed the win, including a 10-2 run in the last 2:28. A Taylor Day 3-pointer with 2:14 to got the Wolverines to a 56-54 deficit. A Kacie Ford free throw cut it to one.

A corner 3-pointer from Eisbach gave Nodaway Valley its first lead at 58-56. The Cardinals tied it again at the free throw line but a big trey from Comstock with under 10 seconds remaining gave the Nodaway Valley crew the win they wanted.

The win pulled the Wolverines ahead of a jumble of four teams battling for fourth place at this point of the POI season and evened the Wolverines' league record to 3-3 and saw their overall record go to 3-5. Central Decatur fell to 3-3 in the POI and 4-3 overall.Mount Ayr continues to lead the POI at 5-0 with Lenox and Martensdale-St. Marys one game back tied for second place.

“It was a tale of two halves and a crazy game,” said NV head coach Brian Eisbach. “It was exhausting. It was a good game and the second half was a good half. We challenged the kids at halftime and ultimately they found a way.”

Eisbach reflected on his daughter becoming the sixth player in program history to top the 1,000-point mark.

“It was a special moment. She has put the work in. I had a quick high-five with her and it was her moment. In watching the game again later, it really set in,” said coach Eisbach.

Nodaway Valley out-worked Central Decatur in rebounding, 41-38, led by Eisbach, who had 10 for a double-double. It was her fourth double-double of the season. Ford had eight rebounds while Day and Comstock each grabbed seven.

Central Decatur was led by three players in double figures in the game with Addy Scheck scoring a season-high 16, Makenna Perkins 14 and Soiyer Smith 11.

These two teams will meet again in the final game of the regular season Feb. 7 in Greenfield.