The Cowgirl basketball team raced out to a 23-5 lead after the first quarter and never looked back in a 65-23 win over Eagle Grove. The team finished at 54.3 percent from the field, 58.8 percent from the line and 71.4 percent from three-point range. They had 36 total rebounds (26 on defense), 19 total assists, 12 total steals and five total blocked shots.
Jadyn Jondle led the scoring column in netting 18 points on 8 of 11 from the field and one trey. Morgan Middleton and Emma Conlon joined her in double digits with 12 points each, with Morgan a perfect 4 of 4 at the line and Emma at 4 of 7 from the field including a three-pointer. Raven Kinnetz scored eight points with two treys, Kendall Lienemann six points and Lexie Lane five points including a trey. Olyvia Olson and Sawyer Morrical both scored two points in their limited court time.
Jondle and Middleton came close to a double-double in cleaning the glass for eight rebounds each. Lienemann and Conlon grabbed four caroms apiece, with Lane getting three and both Kinnetz and Nikki Kapka two each. Nicole Waters, Kaylie Dow, Delia Swanson, Summer Traub and Morrical all had one rebound each.
Jondle and Lane dished out five assists each, with Kinnetz setting up three and both Lienemann and Middleton two each. Conlon and Morrical added one apiece to their final lines. Kinnetz used her quickness to pick off four steals, with Lane making three and Lienemann two. Olson, Keller and Morrical all made one theft of the ball each. Jondle, Kinnetz, Lienemann, Keller and Morrical all added one blocked shot apiece to their night’s work.
“We did some good things in this game, especially in the first half,” stated head coach Liz Ennis. “We pushed the ball up the floor quickly for some easy baskets. We rebounded well, and had some nice back-door cuts for layups. It was fun to get a big lead, and it allowed us to play all 15 girls. It was good for our younger players to have some minutes and some success for most of the fourth quarter. While we had some balanced scoring, we also did a great job of getting rebounds, steals and of sharing the ball. It was great to see. I was especially impressed with Jondle. She really stepped up as a leader. Conlon had an exceptional first half, and Lienemann did some great things both on offense and defense.”
They hosted Webster City on Friday and won 50-28 over the Lynx. The red & black led 30-9 at the break and cruised on from there. The team shot 42.9 percent from the field, 66.7 percent at the line and 25 percent from beyond the arc. They had 36 total rebounds (21 on defense), 17 total assists, 13 total steals and three total blocked shots.
Three ladies finished in double figures as Lienemann netted 14 points on 6 of 10. She was followed by Jondle at 12 points with a trey and Kinnetz at 10 points and also with a three-pointer. Lane and Middleton scored four points each, while Friesleben, Keller and Morrical popped for two points each to finish the scoring column. Jondle and Lane both grabbed seven boards each, with Lienemann and at six and Keller five. Middleton got her mitts on three caroms, and Waters, Conlon and Morrical all two apiece. Swanson and Traub both made one rebound each.
Kinnetz dished the pumpkin for five assists, with Lienemann and Middleton equally generous in making four each. Lane had two and Friesleben and Keller one each. Jondle picked off four steals, with Kinnetz, Lienemann, Middleton and Waters all credited with two each. Friesleben made one. Jondle had two blocked shots and Morrical one to add to their stat lines.
“We came out strong and dominated in this game,” said the head coach. “I liked our full court pressure defense. We outrebounded the Lynx by 15, and that’s a point of emphasis in every practice. Jumping out to s stong lead allowed us to practice some different defenses in this game. We again pushed the ball up court on offense for easy layups, though we probably missed too many of those. I was very impressed with Lienemann. She is really coming on at the right time of the season and is growing as a player. Jondle is so competitive and plays hard. Our bench is doing really nice things for us right now. I am really pleased with Waters defense every time she goes in. She has really focused on having active hands. Little things like that can make a big difference. Keller did a nice job off the bench as well.”
They finished a busy week by playing a rescheduled game in Fort Dodge and took a 54-31 win over St. Edmond. The Cowgirls led the Gaels 27-16 at the break. The team shot 50 percent from the field, 44.4 percent at the charity stripe and 33.3 percent from three-point land. They had 36 total rebounds (24 on defense), 19 total assists, 17 total steals and three blocked shots.
Three Cowgirls reached double digits in the scoring column, led by Middleton who pumped in 16 points on a red hot 8 of 9 from the field. Both Kinnetz and Lienemann knocked down 14 points each, with Raven bombing away for two baskets from long range. Lane finished with four points, Keller three points, Friesleben two points and Conlon one point. Friesleben and Lane shared the lead in cleaning the glass for seven rebounds apiece. Lienemann was next with six, followed by Kinnetz and Midddleton at five each and Conlon at four. Swanson and Keller grabbed one carom each.
Kinnetz handed out six assists, followed by Lane with five and both Lienemann and Friesleben with two each. Middleton, Waters, Keller and Morrical all had one each. Kinnetz and Lane picked off four steals each, with Lienemann making three and Conlon two. Friesleben, Middleon, Waters and Morrical all finished with one each. Lienemann, Friesleben and Middleton all went vertical for a blocked shot apiece. “Sometimes you wonder how we’ll respond to a Saturday afternoon game after just playing the night before,” said Ennis. “The girls came out strong and did some good things in our full court pressure defense. We forced 29 turnovers on the Gaels. They are one of the best rebounding teams in the conference, despite their record, so we made it a goal to outrebound them. We did that by getting 34 total. Kinnetz had 10 deflections with her very active hands. Middleton was able to have her way in the post. Keller came in and posted up well and played strong defense. We again pushed the ball up court for easy baskets. Leinemann had some beautiful cuts to the basket. She just keeps getting better. Friesleben really helped us out in other ways than scoring. Lane struggled a bit with her shooting, but pulled down rebounds and had nice assists and steals. We have got to continue playing this hard and keep our up tempo game going. I see a lot of confidence being built in this past week.”
