A week of ups and downs for GHV girls; win one, drop two

(Above) GHV’s Hannah Lau puts up two of her 23-points in Tuesday night’s game against Eagle Grove.  The Cardinals walked all over the Eagles in a 78-48 trounce.  Also pictured for GHV is Makaya Shropshire.  -Reporter photo by Chris Barragy

It was a week of highs and lows for the Garner-Hayfield-Ventura girls basketball team as they wrapped up the 2016 portion of the season with a record of 3-4 in the Top of Iowa Conference and and overall record of 4-6.

Lake Mills 77, GHV 60

A lack of mental focus may have been the cause of the GHV girls dropping a game to Lake Mills (4-1, 7-1) on Monday, Dec. 19.

The Cardinals started the game off well with a good first quarter, but a horrific second quarter was probably the difference in the game, according to Coach Matt Erpelding.

GHV matched Lake Mills basket-for-basket in the first quarter.  The period ended with a score of 13-13.

The Cardinals kept in the game and even had a one-point lead with 4:09 remaining in the half, 25-24.  Lake Mills put in eight points to go up, 32-25, and kept up the scoring to close the half with a 39-27 lead.

Jillian Heitland opened the second half with a three-point shot, followed by Hannah Lau with a bucket to close the gap, 39-32.  The Bulldogs pumped in 12 points of their own to regain a comfortable lead, 51-34.  Makaya Shropshire got hot in the third quarter, connecting on two three-point shots and another bucket, 56-42.

Heitland hit some threes of her own in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough as the Bulldogs prevailed, 77-60.

“We put in some new offenses heading into this game.  We executed them extremely well, which allowed us to get great open looks.  As a result, we shot 56 percent from the field.  The only problem is that when we weren’t making shots we were turning the ball over,” said Erpelding.  “We had 29 turnovers and that is not going to get it done.”

Hannah Lau led the Cards with a season high 24-points.  She also had seven rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocked shots.

Heitland, who was three-for-seven from the three-point line, ended with nine points.  Shropshire added eight and Jade Hanson and Maddie Williams had seven and six points respectively.

Williams had a good night under the boards with six rebounds.  She also had three assists.

GHV 78, Eagle Grove 48

The offense is clicking for the GHV girls, as they picked up an easy victory Tuesday night against Eagle Grove (0-6, 1-7).

“Once again we executed our offenses extremely well, leading to another great night of shooting at 49 percent,” said Coach Matt Erpelding.

The first half was a bit slow for the Cardinals, as they committed too many first half fouls, sending the Eagles to the line, where they were 13 of 17.  Eagle Grove hung in there pretty well in the first quarter and even managed a one-point lead, before Jillian Heitland connected on a three-point shot and Makaya Shropshire made a bucket to go up by four to end the first quarter, 15-11.

The Eagles got to within one-point, 17-16, before the Cards went on a scoring frenzy and they headed into the half with a 44-31 lead.

GHV blew the game open in the third quarter, outscoring the Eagles, 25-9.

“We continued to execute well offensively and we were able to get our bench significant minutes,” said Erpelding.

The Cardinals went on to win the game, 78-48.

Hannah Lau and Heitland led the team with 23 points apiece.  Lau was a perfect three-for-three from the three-point line and Heitland was three for eight.  Maddie Williams connected on two three-point shots and ended with 10 points.  Jade Hanson and Shropshire each had seven points.

Hanson led the team in rebounds with six, while Lau and Sadie Oulman each had four.

Heitland was the assist leader with six and Williams dished out four.  Williams and Heitland also led the team in steals with seven and six respectively.

Humboldt 55, GHV 40

It was a disappointing way to head into the holiday break, as the Cardinals fell on the road to Humboldt (5-2) on Thursday, Dec. 22.

After doing so well in offensive execution in the two previous games, GHV struggled, shooting only 27 percent from the field.

“We never settled into any kind of flow offensively and most of our shots were rushed,” said Coach Matt Erpelding.  “On top of that we were destroyed on the glass, giving them numerous second and third shots on many possessions.”

The Wildcats took advantage of their second and third chances by garnering a 29-18 lead by halftime.  The Cards held their own in the second half, but the deficit was too much and Humboldt won, 55-40.

Hannah Lau was the only player to have a good night, collecting 23 points to go with her six rebounds, two steals and four blocked shots.

For a team that is usually good at three-point shots, Maddie Williams was the only player able to hit one.  Williams also led the team in assists with five and in steals with four.

Sadie Oulman led the team under the boards with eight rebounds.

“We need to correct a lot of things defensively over the break, as well as continue to improve our offensive execution and decision making,” said Erpelding.