CL girls ranked second in Class 3A

(Above) Clear Lake’s Jaden Ainley provided some tough defense against the Mason City on Monday night.  The Lions beat the 8th ranked (4A) Mohawks 71-64 in non-conference action.  -Reporter photo by Chris Barragy

by Marianne Gasaway

The Clear Lake girls added two more wins to their total last week.  Monday night the Lions, ranked second in Class 3A, had their first real test of the season in a non-conference game against eighth ranked (4A) Mason City.  Friday the team dominated Iowa Falls-Alden for a 69-point victory.

The 5-0 Lions hosted Webster City Tuesday night, Dec. 17, and will travel to Fort Dodge St. Edmond Friday, Dec. 20, for their final game before the holiday break.

CL 71, Mason City 64

Clear Lake outscored Mason City 8-0 in a one-minute span down the stretch to earn a 71-64 victory and hand the Mohawks their first loss of the season.

“It was a big road win for us,” said Clear Lake Coach Bart Smith.  “It wasn’t our best performance and I thought we played a little out of control, but we did what we had to do to get the win.  I was most pleased with how we overcame some adversity after giving up the lead and then fighting back and getting mentally tough down the stretch to finish the game right.”

The game proved to be the typical shootout it has become in recent years, with Clear Lake holding a 17-16 lead after the first quarter and going into the locker room at halftime with a 37-31 cushion.

After an even third quarter the Mohawks went on a late run and actually grabbed the lead with a pair of free throws. But the Lions turned it on and pulled away late for the seven point victory.

Sara Faber and Darby Dodd provided the bulk of the Lion scoring with 26 and 22-points respectively.  Dodd was particularly sharp, sinking six of eight three-point attempts and six of eight two-pointers.  She was also four-for-four at the free throw line.

“They both did a nice job being aggressive the whole game and both made free throws down the stretch,” noted Coach Smith.  Faber and Dodd each swished four free throws late in the game.

As a team, the Lions drained 23 of 27 free throw attempts in the game.

Julia Merfeld added seven points, Kaitlyn Vanderploeg had six and Ali Maulsby put in five-points.  Chelsey Holck and Jaden Ainley finished with four and one point.

Faber pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds, followed closely by Vanderploeg with 10.

CL 90, IF-A 21

Everything was working for the Lion Friday night at Iowa Falls.  Four players finished in double figures and seven more scored in a 90-21 route over the Cadets.

“We had a well balanced attack offensively tonight and it just wasn’t our guards,” said Coach Bart Smith.  “We had good production from our post tonight.  Our defense set the tone and I was pleased with how we got after them defensively to start the game.”

The Lions put 26 points on the board in the first quarter and never looked back.  They led 26-7 after one and 49-18 at the half.

Iowa Falls-Alden managed a mere three points in the second half.

Seniors Sara Faber and Julia Merfeld paced the team with 16 and 15-points respectively.  Jaden Ainley was next with 12 points, followed by Kaitlyn Vanderploeg with 10 to go with her 11 rebounds.

Lexi Fasbender contributed nine-points, Emily Theiss had eight and Chelsey Holck put in seven.  The remainder of the scoring came from Layne Lester with three and Darby Dodd and Zoe Fasbender with two-points apiece.

The Lions recorded 23 steals in the contest, led by Faber with seven.