The Clear Lake basketball team was by no means a congenial host last Tuesday, handing the visiting Cowgirls their first loss by a 50-27 score. The Lions already had built a 31-13 halftime lead. The team shot 23.3 percent from the field, 57.1 percent from the line and an even 30 percent from three-point land. They made 24 total rebounds, nine total assists and seven total steals.
Jadyn Jondle led in scoring by going 4 of 7 with two three-pointers for 10 total, followed by Raven Kinnetz at seven with a trey as well. Morgan Middleton added four points, with Emma Conlon and Kendall Lienemann adding a bucket each and Lexie Lane a pair of free tosses. Lienemann got her mitts on six rebounds, with five of those defensively. Middleton finished with five caroms on her stat line, Jondle four, Conlon three and Kinnetz two. Alaina Friesleben, Nicole Waters, Lane and Emma Keller all made one each.
Kinnetz dished the pumpkin for three assists and Jondle two. Conlon, Middleton, Lienemann and Lane all made one each. Middleton picked off three steals, with Jondle, Conlon, Friesleben and Lienemann grabbing one apiece.
“The Lions are a very well coached team,” stated head coach Liz Ennis. “They are aggressive on both ends of the floor, playing a high pressure man to man defense and attacking the basket on offense. What makes it difficult to guard them is that they have multiple players who can shoot well from three-point range. So not only do they drive in, but anytime you play help defense they can find the open girl at the arc line. Their goal was to shut down Raven, our ball handler and leading scorer, putting extra pressure on her. I felt we needed to be more patient in our offensive set. We have ways to score when we keep the ball moving offensively, but we seemed to rush shots and turn it over too much. Also, when you only score four points in the post it’s pretty hard to win games. While you hate to lose, we used it as a great tool for learning. It exposed our weaknesses and now we need to fix those to improve from here.”
In a highly anticipated battle of top 15 teams (3A), the 14th ranked Cowgirls used their home court advantage to defeat 13th ranked Iowa Falls-Alden 44-36. The home ladies took a 14-8 lead into the second quarter, only to see the Cadets play them nearly even to create a 25- 20 halftime lead for the Cowgirls.
The team shot 45.9 percent from the field, a blistering 80 percent from the line and 22.2 percent from three-point land. Two Cowgirls reached doubledigit scoring, as Middleton pumped in 18 points on 8 of 10 from the field. Kinnetz was close behind with 11 counters including a trey. Jondle and Lane netted five points each, Lienemann three points and Friesleben two points.
Jondle led the board work with eight of them on her final line, six of those being on the defensive side. Middleton yanked down five rebounds, Friesleben three and Lane two. Kinnetz, Conlon and Lienemann all grabbed one apiece. Jondle played unselfishly in dishing out seven assists, followed by Kinnetz with three and Middleton and Lane at one each. Middleton and Lane put their hands in the cookie jar for three steals each, while Jondle and Kinnetz swiped two apiece. Jondle and Kinnetz added a blocked shot each to their night’s work.
“This was our redemption game,” said Ennis. “After a tough loss on Tuesday, our girls put in a great effort to improve on defense and show patience on offense through the practices leading up to this game. I thought we came out strong, running our offense well and forcing a lot of turnovers in our full-court pressure defense. The girls worked as a team and had great energy. I especially thought our defense in the fourth period stepped up and worked as a unit to shut down their best player. We need that kind of intensity on a more consistent level moving forward. Morgan had a great night scoring, but I give credit to her teammates feeding her the ball too. When you have an advantage in the post, a high percentage area, you’ve got to get the ball in there and I liked that we did that. I look at more than scoring, and I was also pleased with Raven and Lexie on defense and getting their hands in the passing lanes. Jadyn had a great night in both rebounding and assists. Without her defensive boards at the end of the game it may have been a different outcome.’
