CL girls knock off #12 rated W-SR

The Clear Lake girls went into the holiday break on a high.  The Lions (6-2) knocked off 12th rated (4A) Waverly-Shell Rock, 54-50, Tuesday, Dec. 22.  W-SR fell to 6-3.

The Lions led at halftime in a low scoring affair, 19-15, but the scoring heated up in the second half.  Jordyn Barragy knocked down three three-point shots in the third quarter and Emily Snelling connected on two to keep the Lions ahead by four heading into the final frame, 37-33.

Snelling finished with 15 points, seven assists and five steals.  Barragy was next with 13 points.

“We shot the ball really well tonight,” said Coach Bart Smith, whose team shot 51 percent (18/35) from two-point range and 47 percent (11/23) from behind the arc.

But the Lions weren’t just good with the ball.  Clear Lake’s defense effectively kept the ball out of Waverly-Shell Rock’s twin towers, 6’1” and 6’2” Grace Ryerson and Katie Harken.

“Our girls did a nice job of executing our defensive plan against their big girls,” said Coach Smith.  “Erin O’Tool was awesome at both ends of the floor, limiting their best scorer (Harken) to two touches all night and holding her to only three points.”

O’Tool was also an asset on offense.  In the fourth quarter the senior made three three-point shots in a row to extend the Lions’ lead.  She finished with nine points and a team-high five rebounds.

Ellie Biebesheimer contributed seven points. Gretchen Jones added five points, Chloe Mueller had three and McKenna Backhaus had two points. 

“It was a good way to end our break, with a win like this on the road,” said Coach Smith.  “We need to carry this momentum into January, because it doesn’t get easier with our next four out of six games on the road.”