Win gives GHV girls a much needed boost

(Above) GHV’s Mara Anderson brings the ball down the floor during Monday nights home game against Humboldt.  Anderson had seven points and four rebounds.  -Reporter photo by Chris Barragy

[caption id="attachment_14628" align="alignleft" width="270"] Hannah Lau, who is just returning after being out with an injury, scores two of her seven points in Monday night’s game against Humboldt. The following night Lau had a double-double against Eagle Grove with 11 points and 10 rebounds. -Reporter photo by Chris Barragy[/caption]

The Garner-Hayfield-Ventura girls split a pair of games prior to the holiday break.  The win gave the Cardinals (2-5, 3-7) a much needed boost to their confidence.

Humboldt 52, GHV 33

Turnovers once again plagued the GHV girls when they hosted Humboldt (6-2) on Monday, Dec. 21.

The Wildcats jumped to an early lead, but a three pointer by Miranda Jackson brought the score to within three points, 11-8.  Humboldt answered that with a three of their own to take a 14-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.  The Wildcats continued to widen the gap, but a three-point shot at the end of the second quarter by Hannah Lau brought the score to 28-18 by the half.

“We got off to a pretty good start and actually had a decent first half considering the way we have been playing,” said Coach Matt Erpelding.  “We struggled a bit in the second quarter getting quality looks at the basket.”

The Cardinals came back from the break and collected five points to bring the game to within five, 28-23.  But that’s where it ended for the Cards, as Humboldt went on a 12-point unanswered run, 40-23.  The game ended with the Wildcats capturing a 52-33 victory,

“We struggled offensively in the second half and we continue to turn the ball over too much,” said Erpelding.  “We shot the ball fairly well from the floor, but only had 26 shot opportunities due to all of our turnovers.”

Scoring was very balanced with Mara Anderson, Jade Hanson and Lau all scoring seven points.  Jackson was 2/2 from the three-point line for six points.

The Cardinals did a good job under the boards, out rebounding the Wildcats by 10.  Lau led the way with eight.  Taryn Carolus grabbed five and Anderson had four rebounds.

Lau led the team in assists with three.  Hanson and Carolus each had one blocked shot.

GHV 51, Eagle Grove 47

It was a game of ups and downs for the Cardinals when they traveled to Eagle Grove (1-5, 2-6) on Tuesday, Dec. 22.

The Cardinals took an early 13-8 lead in the first quarter.

“We had a good first quarter, but then played very poorly in the second quarter,” said Coach Matt Erpelding.

The Eagles went on a seven-point run to take the lead, 15-13.  Jade Hanson connected on a pair of free throws to end the first half, but the Cardinals still trailed, 20-17.

The third quarter wasn’t much better for the Cardinals, as Eagle Grove managed to gain a 10-point advantage, 34-24.  GHV went to work in the fourth quarter and collected 17 unanswered points to take the lead, 43-36.  The game came down to free throws at the end, with Payton Bamrick scoring the final five points from the three-point line for the final 51-47 victory.

Jillian Heitland had a fantastic game for the Cardinals, scoring 21 points.  She was 7/11 from the free throw line and 7/11 on field goals.

Hannah Lau also had a good night with a double-double, 11 points and 10 rebounds.  She also had one assist, one steal and one blocked shot.

Bamrick scored nine points and was 7/10 from the free-throw line.  She also had five rebounds and two assists.

Taryn Carolus led the team in steals with three.  Miranda Jackson led the team in assists with four.

“This was a big win for us as we head into the Christmas break,” said Erpelding.  “We need to make a lot of improvements over the break, but I look for more success in the second half of the season.”

The Cardinals resume their season on Friday, Jan. 8, when they host North Union.  Game time is 6:15 p.m.