Defense key to first round win at State Tournament

by Marianne Gasaway

They say defense wins championships.  If that’s true, it’s going to be a good week for Clear Lake.

Thanks to some lockdown defense, Clear Lake is headed to the Class 3A semifinals for the second straight year.   The second-ranked Lions held Waukon to three field goals and 12 points over the final three quarters en route to a 45-24 victory Monday that concluded the first day of the 2021 State Tournament.

Clear Lake struggled at times offensively, but came up with a couple of big runs to produce the breathing room it needed. 

It was a close first quarter, as the teams were tied three times.  Waukon got its only lead with a shot at the end of the period, putting them ahead, 12-11.  

The Lions made up for their relatively cold shooting early on by grabbing offensive rebounds and putting in second chances.  They outscored the Indians, 12-5, in the second period to hold a 21-17 lead at intermission.

“I think we settled in there in the second half and had a pretty good third quarter- they had a little run there to finish that third. But, you know, it’s defense,” said Clear Lake Coach Bart Smith.  “We have a pretty good defensive team this year, and our half-court D is really solid right now.”

A key to the game was the Lions’ ability to hold Waukon’s Annika Headington in check.  

“I thought we did a tremendous job on their best player. Our goal was to limit them to 15 points in the paint or less, they had six at half, and they had two in the second half. It was a really good job out of everybody, keeping her in front, and defending really well,” said Smith.  

Headington was held to just four points in the game.

Meanwhile Kaitlyn VanderPloeg was providing the Lions with a solid inside game.  VanderPloeg led the Lions with 12 points and six rebounds.

“Just her presence there inside the paint defensively, and offensively she can clean-up the rebounds and misses,” said Coach Smith.   

“I think we came out on fire, we really wanted this, and it’s nice that we’re so well-rounded,” said VanderPloeg after the game.  “We have girls that can get hot from outside, and if they get tight on defense outside, they can just kick it into me, and I can rely on my teammates to find me in the post. That’s where most of my points come from- my teammates being confident, seeing it, and getting that into me. I really appreciate that and to have a team that’s so well-rounded.”

The Lions left Waukon several opportunities to get back in it, but the Indians couldn’t manage the offense they needed to make a run, missing eight of their nine shots in the third quarter and misfiring on four of their five free throws.  They did get the lead down to 25-20, but that’s as close as it would get. Clear Lake scored the final seven points of the third quarter to stretch the lead to 32-20, then scored nine of the first 10 points in the fourth quarter to put it out of reach at 41-21. 

Clear Lake’s Jaden Ainley had a consistent line with eight points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists.

“I thought Jaden was really good, attacking the basket, she just missed some shots today.  Hopefully Thursday we can attack and finish, but I thought she was very good at attacking the basket, putting stress on their defense to help out Kaitlyn,” added Smith.

Darby Dodd added 11 points and six rebounds off the bench.  After starting last year, Dodd missed the early season with an injury and has been helping the team off the bench.  She sees that as an important role.

“I just play as hard as I can and do what I need to do for the team. I had a few extra rebounds tonight, which I normally don’t have, but you know, I’m just playing hard every game and doing whatever I can to help out the team,” she said.

Chelsey Holck put in seven points for the Lions. Ali Maulsby had five and Emily Theiss finished with two points.  

Margaret Wacker’s 10 points led Waukon, which lost for just the second time in the last 16 games and finishes 19-5. 

Clear Lake held Waukon to 27 percent shooting and out-rebounded the Indians 35-21. The Lions collected 13 offensive rebounds, which led to 13 second-chance points. 

Clear Lake won for the 11th straight time and will take a 19-1 record into the a semifinal game at 4 p.m. Thursday against third seed Unity Christian (23-2).  Unity Christian topped Roland-Story 70-42 in a Tuesday morning matchup.  

Coach Smith said the Lions are familiar with Unity Christian.

“Unity Christian is just big and tall just like they were in 2014 when we played them down here,” said Smith.  “They’ve got some 5’10” girls who can handle the ball— I believe they have three at 5’11” or taller so that’s gonna cause some defensive issues.  But I think our guards are quick enough to see what we can get out of them.”

The Lions, in the tournament for the fifth time in seven years, lost to Bishop Heelan in last year’s semifinals.