It’s tournament time!

Clear Lake’s Reese Brownlee protects the ball against a fierce Crestwood defender in the opening round of Class 3A Regionals.  The Lions (17-4) will play their second round game tonight at home against North Fayette Valley (16-6).

Lion defense rises up to take down Crestwood, 55-32 

by Marianne Gasaway

The Lions began their quest for a State Tournament berth with a resounding 55-32 victory over Crestwood Saturday, Feb. 12.  The team (17-4) advances to take on North Fayette Valley (16-6) tonight (Wednesday, Feb. 16) in Clear Lake.

Crestwood did their best to take Clear Lake’s leading scorer, senior Jaden Ainley, out of the game, but the rest of the Lion team was ready to step up and make sure the 10th ranked Lions would advance.

Senior Emily Theiss put in 16 points  and pulled down five rebounds to lead the team to a first round victory.

“I was happy with how we played defense,” said Coach Bart Smith. “It took us a while to figure out their defense that they were playing on us and particularly on Jaden. She was completely shadowed by a defender all night and I thought she responded very well to that.  It can get frustrating as a player when that happens.  She contributed in other areas with her defense and rebounding.”

After only holding a two-point lead at the end of the first quarter, 12-10, Clear Lake held Crestwood to four second-quarter points for a 24-14 halftime lead.  

The Lions outdistanced the competition in the third quarter by outscoring them 23-11 and were able to cruise to the second round.

Despite the defensive pressure, Ainley finished with nine points and grabbed 10 rebounds.  Brooklynn Eden put in six and Jordan Mayland and Xada Johnson each had three points.  

The Lion bench continues to be an important part of the winning recipe.  

Ava Richtsmeier had a hot hand and scored eight points on 4/4 shooting.  Annika Nelson contributed six points, while Carson Holland and Reese Brownlee each scored two.