Lions rally, but fall short

(Above) Clear Lake’s Jordyn Barragy gets physical with a Cherokee defender in a Class 3A region 2 championship game played in Humboldt on Feb. 20. - Photo for the Reporter by Phil Monson.

Fourth ranked Cherokee (3A) survived a third quarter rally by Clear Lake and advanced to State with a 66-49 victory Saturday night in Humboldt.

“We faced a really aggressive team tonight,” said Coach Bart Smith, whose team was looking for back-to-back trips to State.    “Their full court pressure didn’t stop and eventually took a tole on us throughout the game.”

Cherokee jumped out to an early lead and the Lions were down 39-27 at the break.

The Lions came out of the locker room after the break ready to make a run at the Braves.  And that’s just what they did.

In the opening minutes of the third quarter they quickly closed the margin to six points.  A steal and lay-up by junior Emily Snelling and basket by Jordyn Barragy pulled the score to 46-40 at the five-minute mark in the third.

The closing minutes of the frame were the opposite, with the Lions making five turnovers and committing three fouls in the final three minutes of the period.  The Braves extended the lead to 50-41 heading into the final quarter.

“We cut it to six with three minutes left in the third, but we didn’t capitalize on it because of missed lay-ups and costly turnovers.  If we could have tied it or made  it a one possession game to start the fourth I think we would have had the momentum,” said Coach Smith.

The Lions’ shooting turned cold in the final quarter, as they missed three quick shots after the Braves opened the fourth with a basket and free throws following another Lion foul, for a 54-41 lead.

With 6:40 remaining, the Lions suffered a major setback as Snelling fouled out with 17 points.  One minute later, senior defensive specialist Erin O’Tool was sent to the bench with her fifth foul.  A third starter, Chloe Mueller, also fouled out with the braves holding a 61-44 lead at that point.

Cherokee effectively killed the clock and sunk their free throws down the stretch for the 17-point victory.

“I thought we handled the pressure some what well, but we just didn’t make free throws throughout the game and we missed an opportunity in the third quarter where they missed a lot of shots,” said Coach Smith.

Jordyn Barragy was the leading scorer for the Lions with 20-points.  Snelling followed with 17 and Jessica Faber finished with seven.  Ellie Biebesheimer and Emilie Jandebeur had two points apiece, while Gretchen Jones had one point.

“I’m very proud of this year’s group because of their will to prepare, heart, and a relentless desire to win,” added Coach Smith. “Ellie and Erin were great leaders for us this year and will be missed.”

The Lions ended their season with a 16-8 record.

CL 54, Forest City 30

The Lions advanced to the Regional final with a 54-30 victory over Forest City Wednesday, Feb. 17.

Emily Snelling and Jordyn Barragy each put in 15 points to propel the team on offense, however defense was the key to avenging a 52-37 hurt the Indians put on the Lions on Jan. 9.

[wlm_nonmember]To read more of this article, please login or sign up for our E-Edition[/wlm_nonmember]

[wlm_ismember]

“Our girls defended really well tonight,” said Coach Bart Smith.  “If we limited their top scorers’ touches on offense, we thought we had a pretty good chance to get this win.  Erin (O’Tool), Chloe (Mueller), and Emily (Snelling) all rotated defensively on their top scorer and did a nice job making it tough for them to catch and be effective on offense.”

Ellie Biebesheimer, Jessica Faber and Jordyn Barragy defended the Indians’ post pretty well, too, added Smith.

“It was a total team effort on defense.”

The Lions asserted their dominance early, holding the Indians to just four points in the first quarter.  The score was 26-10 at the half.

Solid defense also made the Lion offense flow.  While keeping the Indians in single digit scoring in the third, they added 10 points in the third and 18 in the fourth for the dominant win.

“We were able to get comfortable on offense because of the defense.  They weren’t scoring a lot, so it made us little more aggressive offensively and we got more and more confident with every defensive stop.  I was very proud of how our girls came to compete and played hard.”

Barragy had a hot hand from the outside, draining four of six three-point attempts on her way to 15 points.  Snelling was 4/9 from two-point range and sunk six of eight free throws in picking up 15 points to go with her team-high six rebounds and five steals.

Erin O’Tool was next with seven points and four rebounds. Chloe Mueller put in six points, while Jessica Faber and Ellie Biebesheimer each had four.   Biebeshiemer pulled down five rebounds.  Kiersten Baalson came off the bench to score three points.

[/wlm_ismember]