Clear Lake girls claim NCC title

The Clear Lake girls basketball team claimed the North Central Conference with a pair of conference wins last week.  The Lions finished the NCC schedule with a mark of 13-1, outdistancing co-runners-up Algona and Humboldt, who were each 11-3. The Lions ended the regular season with a record of 18-3.

CL 52, Hampton-Dumont 44

Three players finished in double figures, helping to lift the Lions over Hampton-Dumont (11-9, 7-7) Monday night, 52-44.

The Lions were a bit sluggish at the start and the Bulldogs held a 15-11 lead after the first quarter.  The offense began to click in the second and Clear Lake outscored the home team, 18-8, to open up a lead.

The second half was much closer, as both teams struggled offensively in the third. The Lions opened the fourth quarter with a 37-29 lead.  An even fourth quarter kept the winning margin at eight, 52-44.

“I thought our girls fought all night for the win,” said Coach Bart Smith. “We out-rebounded them at both ends and took care of ball late.  They were determined and played together.  That is the best we’ve moved the ball around in a zone and we got nice open looks because of it.”

Sisters Sara and Jessica Faber accounted for most of the Lions’ scoring.  Sara put in 20 points, grabbed five rebounds and had four steals and made seven assists.  Jessica finished with 17 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots.

Jordyn Barragy scored 10 points to go with her seven rebounds and two steals.  Chloe Mueller dominated the boards, pulling down 11 rebounds. She was also credited with six assists and scored three points.  McKenna Backhaus came off the bench to score two points.

“Its nice to clinch the conference title at home in front our crowd,” added Coach Smith.  “We had a slow start, but it was a little emotional after the way we started the game by honoring Emily the way that we did.  She means a lot to the girls and our program and after the first quarter we settled in and played some really good basketball.”

CL 60, Webster City 48

The Lions used a huge fourth quarter to put an exclamation point on the regular season and wrap up the NCC title.  Clear Lake outscored Webster City 20-9 in the final frame for a 60-48 victory Tuesday, Feb. 7.

Jessica Faber finished her senior season in the conference with strong play.  She scored 21 points to lead the Lions.  Faber also made a team-high seven assists and pulled down five rebounds.

The Lions found themselves in the unusual position of playing from behind in the game.

The teams were tied at 13-13 after the first quarter, but the Lynx held a 24-22 lead at halftime.

The Lions regrouped at the break and evened the score through three quarters, then blew the door open in the final period.

Also scoring in double figures for the Lions was Sara Faber.  The freshman put in 13 points, led the team in steals with four, and grabbed four rebounds.  Jordyn Barragy and Chloe Mueller put in nine and eight points respectively, with Barragy topping the team in the rebound department with seven.  Julia Merfeld added six points, while Lexi Fasbender had two and Gretchen Jones had one point.

“I thought we played sluggish and tired for two and half quarters but were our girls found another gear after playing a tough game the night before.  We found our groove toward the end of the third and into the fourth quarter,” said Coach Bart Smith.