GHV girls pick up win over B-K; Fall to rival West Hancock

Things are looking up for the Garner-Hayfield-Ventura girls, as they picked up a win last week to move their record in the right direction, 3-9, 4-11.

GHV 55, Belmond-Klemme 54

A never-give-up attitude helped the GHV girls pick up a one-point road win on Friday, Jan. 22, at Belmond-Klemme (2-10, 3-12).

“It was great to see us finally put it all together and be rewarded with a victory,” said Coach Matt Erpelding.  “I was proud of the girls in that they never gave up and played with great effort in the fourth quarter.”

The Broncos jumped to an early 11-2 lead in the first quarter, before the Cardinals started to pick it up, closing the gap to 13-7 at the end of the first quarter.  About half way through the second quarter, GHV began to roll and tied it up 25-25 heading into the half.

B-K went on an eight-point unanswered run in the third quarter and led, 38-44, at the end of the quarter.

The Cardinals still trailed, 53-46, with 2:15 remaining in the game when Taryn Carolus knocked down a three-point shot.  From there, the Cardinals took advantage of some turnovers and missed free throws.  A defensive rebound by Carolus with :31 remaining set up a shot by Hannah Lau to tie the game, 54-54, with 14 seconds remaining.  Carolus was then fouled and sent to the line for a one-and-one.  She missed the first one, but sunk the second to win the game, 55-54.

“I am extremely proud of Taryn for stepping up and knocking down that free throw, especially after being iced for about three minutes due to an issue with the clock,” said Erpelding.

Lau had a strong game for the Cardinals, recording a double-double with 22 points and 14 rebounds.  She also had three steals, two assists and one blocked shot.

Jillian Heitland also had a good game with 15-points, four rebounds, four assists, three steals and one blocked shot.

Maddie Williams added nine points, while Carolus had six and Mara Anderson added three.

West Hancock 67, GHV 33

The West Hancock girls (9-2, 13-2) proved to be too much for the Cardinals on Tuesday night, Jan. 19, as GHV fell 67-33 to the Top of Iowa Conference powerhouse.

The Eagles had a nine-point run in the first quarter to take an early lead, 16-7.  The gap widened in the second quarter, 22-7, before Taryn Carolus made a field goal with 4:14 remaining in the half.  Maddie Williams chipped in six-points before halftime for a score of 31-20.

The Eagles opened the second half with an 11-point run and they didn’t look back as they outscored the Cardinals, 36-13, in the second half for the final 67-33 victory.

“We couldn’t get anything going on the offensive end and they pulled away,” said Coach Matt Erpelding.  “Defensively, I thought we showed improvement from the first time we played them in limiting their dribble penetration.”

Scoring was balanced for the Cardinals with four girls, Carolus, Jillian Heitland, Hannah Lau and Williams, collecting six points apiece,

Lau and Heitland led under the boards with nine and six rebounds respectively.  Payton Bamrick grabbed four.

Mara Anderson led the team in assists with three.  Williams grabbed two steals, while Carolus and Miranda Jackson had two blocked shots apiece.

The girls travel to Crestwood on Thursday for a  6 p.m. game.