CL girls pass tough tests

(Above) Clear Lake’s Ali Maulsby laid up a shot against a Mason City player.  Maulsby ended the night with eight points.  -Reporter photo by Chris Barragy

by Marianne Gasaway

Fourth ranked Clear Lake (3A) was tested last week, but kept their perfect record intact with victories over non-conference rival Mason City and Humboldt in the North Central Conference opener.

CL 65, Mason City 54

“That was a good game played by two good teams,” said Clear Lake Coach Bart Smith after the win. “I thought Coach Hill had our girls ready to play and they kept their composure when Mason City made a small run in the fourth quarter.”

It was a back and forth affair in the first half, with Clear Lake holding a slim 15-13 advantage after one quarter of play.  The Mohawks outscored the Lions, 22-18, in the second quarter for a 35-34 lead at the half.

Jaden Ainley, Emily Theiss and Xada Johnson provided the Lions with an inside-outside scoring threat in the second half, helping their team to a three-point, 47-44, advantage heading into the final eight-minutes.

The Mohawks made a run in the fourth quarter, but the Lion defense stepped up for the win.

“They could have gone up seven with the ball, but our girls got a nice defensive stop and got a score on the other end.  We had some big plays made in the fourth quarter to extend our lead and I was very happy to see our girls win a game like that,” said Smith.

Ainley finished with 18 points.  Theiss put in 15 and Johnson scored 13. Ainley and Johnson also had eight rebounds, as did Ali Maulsby, who also scored eight-points.

The remainder of the scoring came from Chelsey Holck with six, Jordan