CL girls pick up two more wins

(Above) Clear Lake’s Emily Theiss defends the basket when the Lions faced Webster City Friday night.  Clear Lake defeated the Lynx, 71-27.  -Reporter photo by Chris Barragy

by Marianne Gasaway

The Clear Lake girls bounced back from a loss to Class 4A Waverly-Shell Rock early last week to post wins over Webster City and Forest City Friday and Saturday.  The Lions, who dropped from third to fifth ranked in Class 3A following their loss to W-SR, are now 10-1.

CL 71, Webster City 27

If there were any frustrations remaining from Monday’s loss,  they were taken out on Webster City Friday.  The Lions shot the ball, early, often and effectively to trample the Lynx, 71-27.

The Lions led 17-3 after one quarter and were in control, 40-13, at the break.  They held the Lynx to only four third quarter points, outscoring them 21-4 in the period.  

“This was a good game for us offensively.   We have been struggling a little bit from the arc and it was nice to see some girls who need to make threes for us make them,” said Coach Bart Smith.

The Lions were 7/19 from three-point land, led by Chelsey Holck, who made three of five attempts.  

Holck and Jaden Ainley, who each shot above 70 percent in the game, finished with 17 points apiece.  Starters Emily Theiss and Kaitlyn VanderPloeg each had four points and Darby Dodd put in three.

Ali Maulsby led the group off the bench with seven points on 2/3 shooting from two point and three-point range.  Xada Johnson scored six points, Autumn Vanhorn and Ashlyn Fread had five apiece, and Ava Richtsmeier scored three.

“Hopefully this game gives them some confidence going forward.  Our ball movement was really good and we shared the ball really well.

CL 63, Forest City 47

Kaitlyn VanderPloeg had her best game of the season, leading the Lions past Forest City with a 15-point, seven rebound, performance.  The senior also had a pair of blocks and steals.  The Lions topped their non-conference rival, 63-47.

Two other Lions, Chelsey Holck and Jaden Ainley, were also in double figures with 14 and 11 points respectively.

“We ran our offensive stuff really well to start the game and that put them in a hole the rest of the game. We have so many weapons offensively and it makes it hard for teams to try and take one person away,” said Coach Smith.

The Lions were able to take control early and outscored the Indians, 20-9 in the opening quarter.  By halftime the lead was 36-18.

“We weren’t very consistent in the second half, which allowed them to win the second half.  We need to start putting four good quarters together and get consistent play throughout the game.  We can’t let up,” added the coach.

Senior Darby Dodd, who is making her way back to significant playing time after an injury, came off the bench to drain a pair of three-pointers and finish with eight points.  Ali Maulsby and Emily Theiss scored seven and six points respectively, with Theiss also recording a team-high six assists.  Xada Johnson came in to score one bucket.

The girls will look to keep on winning when they travel to Roland-Story Thursday night for a non-conference game.  Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.  The next night, Friday, Jan. 15, they will host Fort Dodge St. Edmond in a boy-girl doubleheader starting at 6:15 p.m.  Tuesday, Jan. 19, the team is on the road at Algona.