by Marianne Gasaway
Three more wins lifted the Lions to 17-2 overall and into the Class 3A ratings. The Jan. 31 rankings by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union listed Clear Lake as number 13. The only other North Iowa school in the rankings is Osage (17-1), at number seven.
The Lions begin post-season play Saturday, Feb. 11. They will host Saydel in a 7 p.m. game. The winner will advance to play Wednesday, Feb. 15, against the winner of the Forest City vs. Iowa Falls-Alden game. The other side of the Class 3A Region 4 bracket includes West Marshall meeting Greene County and Roland-Story against Nevada on Feb. 11. Winners from both sides of the bracket will play at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18, for the chance to advance to State. The highest remaining ranked team in the final IGHSAU rankings will host the Regional final. In the Jan. 31 rankings, West Marshall and Clear Lake were the only ranked teams in the Region. West Marshall (17-1) was ranked fourth, while the Lions (15-2) were 13th.
CL 54, Algona 51
Clear Lake outscored Algona 15-12 in the fourth quarter to pull out a 54-51 victory Monday, Jan. 39. The win extended the Lions’ North Central Conference winning streak to 37 games.
The game was a see-saw affair, with the Bulldogs taking a 15-10 lead after one quarter. At halftime the score was knotted at 24-24 and the third period ended in a 39-39 tie.
Senior Brooklyn Eden helped her team to the win with four three-pointers in the second half. She ended up with 15 points to lead the Lions. Reese Brownlee also had a hot hand— sinking both of her three-point attempts on her way to 10-points. Xada Johnson also finished with 10-points, while Ayla Johnson had seven. Carsyn Holland was next with six-points, followed by Jordan Mayland with four and Annika Nelson two.
“We had a great test of adversity and our girls responded very well,” said Coach Bart Smith. “After trailing in the first quarter and down eight with three minutes to go in the half we got some good defensive stops and big shots from Brooklynn and Carsyn. “Late in the game we defended really well and executed down the stretch. I was very happy with how our team performed and it put us in a really good spot to stay on top of the conference.”
CL 35, GHV 33
Garner-Hayfield-Ventura hosted Clear Lake Thursday night with upset on their mind. The Cardinals came within two-points of upsetting the 13th ranked Lions, 25-33.
GHV’s defense kept the Lions from getting on track and held them to a season-low seven points the first quarter and 12 in the entire first half. Despite a scoreless first quarter, the Cards were still able to hold an 18-12 halftime lead.
The Lions used their own defensive pressure down the stretch to hold the Cardinals to a mere one-point in the fourth quarter, helping them to the win. Senior Annika Nelson had a huge offensive rebound for the Lions that allowed Jordan Mayland to make a three-pointer to tie the game with two minutes to go. Nelson also made some free throws late for her team.
The Lions were sent to the free throw line 23 times in the game, compared to six for GHV. But Clear Lake failed to take full advantage of the opportunity. She made eight of 23 from the charity stripe for 35 percent. Thankfully some of the made shots were in during the final two-minutes to lift the Lions.
Ayla Johnson and Mayland were the leading scorers for the Lions with eight points apiece. Xada Johnson scored six and had a team-high six rebounds. Reese Brownlee and Brooklyn Eden each had five-points.
Nelson and Madi Ott came off the bench and scored two and one-point respectively.
“We battled a very feisty Garner team tonight. They played hard and made it really hard for us to score. Garner out-played us for the majority of the game, but we were good in the fourth to pull off this win,” said Coach Smith. “I wasn’t happy with how we shot free throws throughout the game, but we made them down the stretch. We kept fighting to get some rhythm and I was happy for our team for that.”
CL 52, IF-A 29
It was another slow start for the Lions Friday night, but they gained momentum and pulled away from Iowa Falls-Alden for another NCC victory, 52-29.
I would have liked a better start from us, but once we were able to get a basket to fall we went on a really good run and had a pretty good rest of the game,” said Coach Smith.
The Lions trailed, 13-6, after the first quarter of play, but outscored the Cadets 15-1 in the second quarter and 31-15 in the second half, led by Xada Johnson with 19-points.
“Xada had a great night. She’s a tough player when she is as aggressive as she was tonight,” said Coach Smith. In addition to her scoring, Johnson had 10 rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots.
The remainder of the Lions provided a balanced attack. Ayla Johnson and Jordan Mayland each put in eight points. Annika Nelson scored seven and Brooklyn Eden and Carsyn Holland finished with five points apiece.
“We have to fix our starts. I need to do a better job of getting them focused and ready to play,” said Coach Smith. “We definitely need a few practices to take care of that, but that will have to wait until Wednesday. Monday’s and Tuesday’s games will be the fifth time we will be going back-to-back. It’s hard to try and get into a rhythm and correct some things that need to be worked on. Our girls have handled that very well.”
After hosting St. Edmond Monday and Humboldt Tuesday, the Lions begin their quest for a State Tournament berth with a game against Saydel (6-14) Saturday, Feb. 11, at CLHS. Game time is 7 p.m.
