Clear Lake girls pick up two wins on the road

The Clear Lake girls basketball team used a pair of wins on the road last week to move to 5-2 overall.  The Lions posted victories over Iowa Falls-Alden and Fort Dodge St. Ed’s to improve to 3-1 in the North Central Conference.

CL 52, IF-A 45

An all-around team effort helped the Lions past winless Iowa Falls-Alden 52-45 on Tuesday, Dec. 15.  Emily Snelling, Jordyn Barragy and Ellie Biebesheimer all finished in double figures for the Lions.

“We had better ball movement in tonight’s game.  I thought we shared it well at the beginning and were able to get off to a good start,” said Coach Bart Smith.

The Lions poured in 20 points in the first quarter to lead by six, 20-14.  It was a more even second period, but the Lions took a 32-24 lead to the locker room at halftime.

The Cadets made some good defensive adjustments at the break and held the Lions to just seven third quarter points, pulling to within four, 39-35, heading into the final frame.

IF-A pulled within two points twice down the stretch, but each time the Lions responded.

“We had trouble pulling away from them because we couldn’t take care of the ball and get defensive rebounds.  These are two categories where you want to be good at if we want to put teams away and we weren’t,” said Coach Smith.

The Lions had 12 offensive and 10 defensive rebounds in the game compared to 16 offensive and 18 on defense for the Cadets.  Anna Pomeroy pulled down 13 rebounds for IF-A.

Snelling finished with a team-high 19 points, followed by Barragy with 12 points and Biebesheimer with 11.  Barragy and Biebesheimer were the leaders in rebounds with six apiece.  Snelling had quick hands, getting five steals in the game to go with her five assists.

Chloe Mueller put in five points for the Lions.  Erin O’Tool put in three and Gretchen Jones and McKenna Backhaus each had one point.

CL 48, St. Ed’s 37

“Finally, a win at St. Eds!” exclaimed Coach Smith Friday night after his team came out on top, 48-37.

It wasn’t as easy as the score makes it appear.  A strong second quarter, in which the Lions outscored the Gaels (0-6) 17-7, and crucial free throws the difference.

“It’s a tough place to play, but we did just enough to get a win down there,” said Coach Smith. “Our free throw shooting gave us the victory.  Making 19 in a row helps.  I’m very proud of our girls with that stat.”

Both teams started out a bit sluggish, ending the first quarter in a 7-7 tie.  The Lions broke out of their funk by using full court pressure to force some turnovers which resulted in baskets.  At the break, the Lions were up 24-17.

Emily Snelling put in 28 points for the Lions, helped by 17/18 shooting from the free throw line.  She managed 10 steals and paced the team on the boards with four rebounds.

Chloe Mueller added seven points and had five steals.  Jessica Faber and Jordyn Barragy put in five points apiece and Ellie Biebesheimer had two.

“We didn’t win the important stats again and that’s disappointing as a coach because we stress that every day,” said Smith.