CL girls lead NCC

The Lions, ranked eighth in Class 3A, headed into the Christmas break riding a six game win streak following a 61-28 thrashing of Iowa Falls-Alden Tuesday, Dec. 20.  The victory kept the Lions atop the North Central Conference leader board with a 4-0 record.  They are 7-1 overall

Clear Lake was steady on the road, putting up 12 points in both the first and second quarters, while wrecking havoc with the IF-A offense, to take a 24-13 lead into the halftime break.

The Lions continued to heat up throughout the game offensively and caused 25 Cadet turnovers, keep the home team in single digit scoring each quarter.

“It took us awhile to find our rhythm offensively in the first half, but our defense helped us get some transition points,” said head Coach Bart Smith.  “The second was half better.  We started to hit him some threes, which put some stress on their defense.”

Emily Snelling was the offensive leader for the Lions.  She put in 20 points and had seven steals.  Sisters Sara Faber and Jessica Faber were also in double digits with 14 points apiece.  Sara made six steals and Jessica had four.  Sara shared top rebounding honors with Chloe Mueller.  Both players had five boards.  Muller also had a team-high six assists.

McKenna Backhaus and Jordan Barragy scored three points apiece, while Mikayla Vanderploeg got into the scorebook with a free throw.

“Our defense is really good right now and our girls are committed to the game plan and understanding personnel.  That’s important when you’re on the road and struggling to score,” added Coach Smith.

The Lions are back in action with back-to-back games Friday and Saturday, Jan. 6 and 7.  On Friday, they host St. Edmond in a conference game.  Saturday Forest City will come to town for a non-conference tilt.

“Its always good to be at the top of the conference going into break.  We still need to be committed to improving and being our best at the end of January and heading into tournament time,” said Coach Smith.