By Mark Schafer | The News-Review
 SIGOURNEY – Responding to challenges is what makes up the character of a team.
Going into the last week before break the Sigourney girls needed to show just what kind of response they are capable of. It could be safe to say that the response from the Savages was a satisfactory one.
Sigourney won both of their games last week. It started with a 51-34 victory over HLV-TC on Dec. 16. They were then able to finish off the week with a 65-30 win over Iowa Valley.
“I love that they showed up to play,” Sigourney head coach Kaylee Weber said after the win over Iowa Valley. “We’ve started some games really flat lately. To see the early energy tonight has been great. I’m glad they reacted and moved the ball well. We played really well.”
In their 35-point win on Friday night the Sigourney girls surrendered the first two points of the game as Iowa Valley was able to get through the Savage defense and score a layup. From there the next 10 minutes featured Sigourney showcasing their skills.
Throughout the first minutes of the game Sigourney wasn’t afraid to deploy their tough defense as they swiped at high dribbles and stepped into the passing lanes of the Iowa Valley players. Although steals and Iowa Valley turnovers were a plenty for Sigourney early on, the points didn’t come as easily.
Brynn Clarahan tied the game at two with a pair of free throws. Then came a three pointer by Bailey Gretter.
Once that shot fell the rest of the offense just seemed to fall into place for the rest of the Savages.
“Almost everyone scored tonight,” Weber said. “I like that we are sharing the ball a lot more than we had been. You know, Brynn is still going to be Brynn, and score the points that she does. We had a lot of other players that scored for us. We don’t get a lot of balance on the scoring sheet, but it is nice when we are able to get those things. I like it, I like it a lot when we have a scoresheet like that.”
Before some fans were able to get settled into their seats the Savages had taken a 20-2 lead, and the lead wasn’t stopping. After the first quarter Sigourney led 23-2 and had the game well in control.
Of the first 32 points scored in the game, 30 of them belonged to the Savages as a multitude of different players scored for Sigourney. Addy Fineran had a three pointer. Becca Gretter added her own three. Adalynne Tremmel would also drain a three pointer.
By halftime the Savages were able to lead 39-13. the score kept climbing in the second half as the Savages were able to outscore Iowa Valley 26-17 in the final 16 minutes.
Clarahan led all scorers on Friday night with 19 total points. Bailey Gretter added 16 points in the win. Adalynne Tremmel was able to score 11 points. Becca Gretter added 10 points. Another five points came from Fineran. Charli Smothers finished with four points in the Friday night win.
Earlier in the week the Savages had bested HLV-TC 51-34. In that contest the Savages were able to score 15 points in the first quarter, and they limited the Warriors to just two points. By halftime the Savages were able to lead 28-10.
Overall the Savages added 23 more points in the second half, HLV-TC would score 24 points in the second half as the Savages were able to win, stopping a two game slide they had been on. Â
“I told the girls that they have something to prove,” Weber said. “The girls took last week to heart. They know they are a better team than what showed up. Today, this was big. Iowa Valley scored a little more than what I would have liked. We had 10 threes tonight which is great for us. We are starting to see the court better, which is great, but, of course, now we go to break.”
The Savages stand at 4-2 overall on the season. They will return to the court on Jan. 6 when they host English Valleys.
Photos by Mark Schafer
