GHV girls dump North Iowa, B-K

Solid defense provided a pair of wins for the Garner-Hayfield-Ventura girls last week.  The Cards are now 6-9 overall and 5-6 in the conference.

GHV 69, North Iowa 36

Rebounding wasn’t enough for the Bison of North Iowa (1-9, 1-12) as they fell to GHV by way of efficient scoring and scrappy defense.

The Cardinals’ shooting was no match for the Bison from the very start of the game. The Cards shot a blistering 54 percent from the field, 31 from three-point range and 79 percent from the charity stripe.

The Bison were competitive on the glass, pulling down 34 rebounds, 17 of which were on the offensive side, while the Cards snagged 39 of their own.

“We did a much better job on the boards in the second half and that allowed us to pull away for the big victory,” said GHV Head Coach Matt Erpelding.

GHV ended the first period with a 20-7 lead, which was built upon only slightly by halftime to a tune of 36-21. But the second half was painted red as the Cardinals extended their lead while putting 11 players on the scoresheet.

Mara Anderson, whose 13 points came from all over the floor, was the leading scorer.  She was three-for-six from the field, two-for-three from behind the arc, and five-for-six from the free throw line. She also added five rebounds.

Jillian Heitland added 11 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals while Jade Hanson put in 10 points, four rebounds and two blocks.

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Rounding out the leaders was Hannah Lau with nine points, 13 rebounds, five assists, three blocks and three steals.

“Our balanced scoring was an indication of the quality play we got from everyone that stepped on the floor,” said Erpelding.

GHV 54, Belmond-Klemme 35

A tough-fought battle in the first half eventually sided with the Cardinals, whose defense and timely runs proved too much for the Broncos (2-8, 3-9).

The game started with a 10-0 run from GHV. Every time it looked as though the Cardinals were about to run away with the game, the Broncos found a way to come back.

With less than a minute in the first half, the Broncos were within three, but a Hannah Lau layup, defensive stop and a spied three from Jillian Heitland sent the home team into the locker rooms with a 23-15 lead. It was the closest the Broncos would get though as the second half was completely dominated by GHV.

“We made a couple halftime adjustments and were able to pull away in the second half. For the second night in a row we got tremendous minutes from our role players,” said GHV Head Coach Erpelding.

The Cardinals won the glass 34-11, while also nabbing 15 steals.

They were led by Lau’s 24 points on 10/14 shooting with 14 rebounds, three assists and four steals. Heitland added 16 points, going three-for-nine from three-point land. She also added three rebounds, three assists and a steal.

Maddie Williams was another significant contributor, whose six points, three rebounds, three assists and one steal balanced the team.

“We have now had two games in a row with very solid games from numerous players. Hopefully we can continue to build off of these two victories and finish the season strong,” said Erpelding.

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