Keota Knocked Out of Tournament by Gladbrook-Reinbeck

GRINELL—On February 21, the Keota Eagles traveled to Grinnell High School for a neutral sight semifinal matchup with the Gladbrook Reinbeck Rebels. The Rebels ran past the Eagles by a final score of 77-57. 

The Eagles found themselves immediately in a 6-0 hole to start the game. The Eagles responded with eight straight points. The Rebels eventually etched out a 20-14 lead. The Rebels started the second quarter by responding to a Billie Kindred three with a 8-0 run. They eventually pushed their lead to 41-28. In the second half, the wheels came spinning off for the Eagles as they were out-scored 36-19 in the second half. 

Keota head coach Dan Stout spoke on the game with, “We turned the ball over way too many times. We also gave up too many offensive rebounds to them. Those things really hurt us.”

The Eagles were led by junior Cole Kindred with 15 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals. Junior Sawyer Stout was the second leading scorer with 10 points. Billie Kindred was the third highest scorer for the Eagles with nine points off of three triples on the night. 

The Eagles will only lose two seniors this year, Aiden Anderson and Dalton Dodd. Coach Stout spoke on the loss of these players with, “Both seniors gave everything they had and were great teammates, and did their roles awesome. They both made our program better as they were awesome kids to work with and are great kids in the school and the community.” 

Lastly, coach Stout said he emphasized to his returning players that, “to take the next step from being a really good team to a great team it takes off season work and commitment to getting better.” 

The Eagles conclude their season with a record of 21-4, and a conference record of 14-2.