GHV girls face tough competition

(Above) GHV’s Jayden Frank had a stellar game against Algona on Saturday.  Frank ended the night with 31-points, the most scored at a GHV game since 1996. Despite her effort the Cardinals fell to fifth (3A) rated Algona.   -Reporter photo by Chris Barragy

by Michelle Watson

The Garner-Hayfield-Ventura girls held their ground against some tough competition last week.  The Cards faced North Union, a State tournament team from last season, and number five (3A) ranked Algona.

North Union 53, GHV 37

GHV traveled to North Union, who has the ninth leading scorer in the state in Chloe Lofstrom, on Friday night, Jan. 4.

The task of controlling Lofstrom fell to Mara Anderson and Nicole Upmeyer.  The duo did a good job, and even held Lofstrom scoreless in the second quarter.

The Cards were holding their own in the first quarter, but stalled when the score was 8-8.  North Union went on a seven point run for an early 15-8 lead.

GHV got into a groove in the second quarter with a 6-1 run of their own to knot the score, 16-16.  North Union hit a three-point shot to close out the first half with a three-point lead, 21-18.

North Union came back from the break and pumped in eight points to stretch the lead to 29-18.  The Cardinals were outscored 19-8 in the third quarter and trailed, 40-26 heading into the final period.

Chloe Frank hit two treys in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough as GHV fell, 53-37.

“Our players executed the game plan and played extremely hard. We just had too many shots go in and out to keep pace,” said Coach Matt Frank.

Chloe Frank led the scoring with 11-points.  Jayden Frank had seven, followed by Morgan Ryerson and Mara Anderson with six points apiece.

Jayden Frank led the effort under the basket with eight rebounds.  Jade Hanson grabbed six, while Maddie Williams pulled down five.

Williams led the team in assists with five.  Jayden Frank dished out three.

Chloe Frank, Jayden Frank and Williams all had two steals apiece.

Morgan Ryerson was three-for-three from the three point line and she had two blocked shots.

Algona 71, GHV 63

The Cardinal girls played their hearts out Saturday, Jan. 5, when they hosted fifth (3A) rated Algona.  No one left it on the floor more than Jayden Frank, who pumped in 31-points to lead GHV. Frank shot 12/20 and was 5/10 from the three-point line.  Her effort put her in a tie for third place in scoring in GHV history and it was the most points scored in a game since 1996.

The two teams matched buckets in the first quarter.  Chloe Frank sunk two three-pointers to close out the quarter with a 15-15 tie.

Jayden Frank and Morgan Ryerson combined for five points to take a 20-15 lead to open the second quarter.  GHV held the lead for most of the quarter.  A couple of free throws and a bucket gave Algona a one-point lead heading into the break.

Jayden Frank pumped in five points to open the second half to remain even with the Bulldogs.  She hit a three to take a one-point lead, 39-38.  Algona went on a six-point run, 50-44.  Jayden Frank went on a five-point run of her own and, aided by a bucket by Maddie Williams, recaptured the lead, 51-50, with 5:48 remaining on the clock.  The lead change spooked the Bulldogs, who had a nine-point run of their own to reclaim the lead, 59-51.

Jayden Frank fired back up and pumped in another five for GHV, 63-61.  Algona was perfect from the free throw line, hitting eight in a row to capture a 71-63 victory.

Algona hit 22 of 26 free throws to aid in the victory.

“I am very happy with the pace at which we played and how we played as a team,” said Coach Matt Frank.  “The girls are playing with confidence in each other and they just need to close out a big game like this.”

Following Jayden Frank’s 31-point performance was Chloe Frank with 11-points.  Jade Hanson chipped in nine-points, while Maddie Williams and Ryerson both had five.  Nicole Upmeyer had two-points.

Mara Anderson had a stellar night rebounding, hauling in nine.  Jade Hanson and Jayden Frank had six and five rebounds respectively.

Williams led the team in assists with eight. She also had one steal and one blocked shot.

Hanson, Chloe Frank, Ryerson and Upmeyer had two steals apiece.