Season comes to a close for Clear Lake girls

Jaden Ainley led the team in scoring against the Midgets with 16 points.  -Reporter photo by Chris Barragy

by Marianne Gasaway

Clear Lake’s season came to an end Saturday night, as Estherville Lincoln Central shot lights out and earned a trip to State with a 56-41 victory.

Clear Lake jumped to a narrow lead in the early minutes, but on the strength of their three-point shooting the Midgets closed the quarter ahead, 11-9.  Despite clawing back from a 13-point deficit in the second quarter,  the Lions were never able to get over the hump and take the lead again.

“We ran into a really good team that had good shooters that attacked the basket well and were able to guard us pretty good,” said Head Coach Bart Smith.  

The coach said he like the aggressive play of his offense in the first quarter, but acknowledged  some easy scoring opportunities were missed in the first quarter that would have given the Lions a chance to keep it close throughout the game.  

“When you play good teams this deep in the tournament you must capitalize when you can or the other team will take advantage of that,” said Smith.  “I was proud of how we trimmed the lead to six before half and had some opportunities in the second half to get it tied or take the lead, but a couple of their guards made some deep threes to extend the lead again.”

Midway through the second period Jaden Ainley drained a three-pointer to end a 9-0 Midget run.  The senior did it again at the 3:35 mark and buried two free-throws with two-minutes remaining for her 14th point of the night.  Xada Johnson and Emily Theiss each scored in the final minute of the first half to send the Lions to the locker room down by only six, 28-22.

Unfortunately, the Lions’ momentum did not carry into the second half.  In the first minute the Midgets pushed the lead back to 10 and held it there until the end of the third quarter, 40-30.

The Lions fought to the end and after trailing by as many as 18 in the final period, they cut the score to 52-41 with under two-minutes remaining.  The Midgets hit their free throws down the stretch to seal the deal.

“I was proud of how we defended all night.  They made big shots when they needed to,” said Coach Smith reflecting on the game.  “I’m very happy with this year’s team and the season we had.  The seniors did a nice job of leading all year and they should be proud of all the accomplishments they’ve had throughout their years.  Nothing to hang their heads about.”

Seniors Jaden Ainley and Emily Theiss led the team with 16 and 10 points. Ainley, along with Xada Johnson who scored 10 points, had a team-high six rebounds.  Theiss and Jordan Mayland grabbed five.  Mayland finished with three-points.  Brooklyn Eden also had three and Annika Nelson came off the bench to score one.

The Lions finished the season with an 18-5 record.  Three teams that defeated the Lions this season are headed to the State 

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Tournament.  Ballard, Roland-Story and Estherville Lincoln Central will battle for a Class 3A title next week.

CL 57, NFV 39

The Lions opened tournament play with a 57-39 victory against North Fayette Valley (16-7).

“I was very happy with how we were able to adjust again to different defensive strategies thrown at us,” said Coach Smith.  “North Fayette Valley is a well coached team that is very physical and they play tough.”

Smith noted the Lions had big contributions from Jordan Mayland and Brooklynn Eden to start the game and it put pressure on the Tigerhawks to change their thinking on how they were going to guard the Lions the rest of the game. 

North Fayette Valley’s game plan included amping up the defensive pressure on the Lions’ senior leaders, Emily Theiss and Jaden Ainley. 

“I was pleased with Emily and Jaden throughout the game because they trusted the other girls on the floor and didn’t get frustrated or force shots when they were able to get open,” said Smith.  “We’ve had our bench really contribute here lately and it’s nice to see the girls understand that just because you don’t start, doesn’t mean you can’t be a factor in a game.  It was a great team win for us again.”

Clear Lake took a quick 11-4 first quarter lead and went to the locker room at halftime ahead, 21-16.  The visitor was effectively held in check throughout the second half.

Ainley finished with 22-points, while Eden came off the bench to score 16.  Emily Theiss added nine-points, Jordan Mayland six and Xada Johnson four.  

Johnson pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds.

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