CL girls top Humboldt; fall to Algona

(Above) Clear Lake’s Zoe Fasbender faces off against an Algona defender.  The Lions lost for the second time this season to Algona.  -Reporter photo by by Chris Barragy

By Marianne Gasaway

The Clear Lake girls picked up one important North Central Conference victory last week, but for the second time this season lost to Algona, giving the Bulldogs at least a share of the conference crown.

The Lions (14-4) begin post-season play Saturday, Feb. 9.  They will host Pocahontas Area at 7 p.m. in the CLHS gymnasium.  The winner will meet the winner of the Kuemper Catholic vs. Southeast Valley at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 13, in Humboldt.  The Class 3A Region 2 title game will be played Saturday, Feb. 16, at Clarion.  Roland-Story, Humboldt, Carroll and Greene County are on the other side of the Region 2 bracket.

CL 64, Humboldt 25

Coach Bart Smith said his team got off to their best start of the season and the Lions never looked back in a 64-25 romp over Humboldt Friday, Feb. 1.

The Lions broke out of the gate with a 26-3 lead after one quarter of play.  By halftime the difference was 36-10.

“We were really good at both ends.  I was very pleased with our defensive rotations in our press and had constant pressure the whole time,” said Coach Smith.

The Lions shot at 54 percent in the game, led by the trio of Sara Faber, Zoe Fasbender and Julia Merfeld.  Faber put in 15 points, while Fasbender and Merfeld scored 13 and 10 respectively.

Lexi Fasbender was next with nine-points, followed by Ali Maulsby and Kaitlyn Vanderploeg with six apiece.  Vanderploeg pulled down a team-high six rebounds.  Jaden Ainley scored three-points and Emily Theiss put in two for the Lions.

Algona 55, CL 41

Clear Lake’s quest to win the North Central Conference title was dealt a blow Saturday, as Algona (18-1) topped the Lions (14-4) for the second time this season, 55-41.  The teams came into the game tied at the top of the conference standings.  With the loss, the Lions dropped into second place tied with Iowa Falls-Alden at 10-2.  Algona was the leader with a 13-1 NCC record.

“There were too many missed opportunities to try and beat a good team like Algona,” said Coach Bart Smith.  “We missed open shots and turned it over too many times.”

Both teams struggled from the field, with Clear Lake shooting at just 32 percent in the game and Algona 29 percent.

Although low scoring, the first half ended nearly even.  The Bulldogs went into the locker room with a 21-17 lead.

The third quarter saw the Lions edge the visitor 11-10, but free throws down the stretch gave Algona enough for the win.  The Bulldogs sunk 11 of 14 free throw attempts in the final quarter.

“When we aren’t making shots, we have to find different ways to score and I thought we settled for some shots,” said Coach Smith.  “To beat good teams your scorers have to score and that didn’t happen tonight.”

Sara Faber had 19 points and seven rebounds to lead the Lions.  Lexi Fasbender contributed eight points, followed by Chelsey Holck with seven.  Julia Merfeld and Zoe Fasbender each scored five points.  Mikayla Vanderploeg didn’t score, but helped the team with seven rebounds.

Lions beat Cardinals

Turnovers in the second half broke open a close game between Clear Lake and Garner-Hayfield-Ventura Thursday night, Jan. 30, and helped the Lions post a 63-40 non-conference victory.

After a competitive first half, which ended with a 32-26 Lion advantage, the Cardinals committed 19 turnovers in the second half for a total of 35 in the game.  Clear Lake had just 12 miscues in the entire game.

Final statistics showed that the Lions scored a whopping 31 points off turnovers, while the Cards made four.

The third ranked (3A) Lions came out a little rusty, after having missed several days of practice due to the cold weather.  The Cardinals jumped out to a 6-0 lead on three-pointers from Jayden and Chloe Frank.  Clear Lake tied the score at 9-9 in the final two-min

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