CL girls named to All-Conference teams

by Marianne Gasaway

Clear Lake’s Jaden Ainley and Emily Theiss have been named as unanimous All-North Central Conference First Team players.  The senior standouts led the Lions to a perfect 14-0 record in the conference.  The team ranked first in offense with an average of 59 points per game. They were also tops in defense, holding their opponents to an average of 27 points, giving them an average margin of victory of 32 points.

Ainley was the leading scorer in the conference, putting in 281 points for an average of 20 per game.  She also topped the league in three-point shooting with a 46 percent average (29/63) and was second in field goal percentage with 55 percent (104/190).  Ainley ranked fourth in the NCC in free throw shooting, sinking 44 of 57 attempts for 77 percent.  Defensively, she was third in steals with 46 for an average of 3.3 per game.

“Jaden is the type of player you want in a program because of her competitiveness, commitment, and overall toughness that she possesses,” said Clear Lake Head Coach Bart Smith.  “I was always impressed with her scoring abilities during her time in our program.  She wasn’t the quickest or fastest player on the floor but was very intelligent about the game and was able to use that to her advantage to be one of the best scores in the area and state.”

Theiss finished eighth in the NCC in scoring with 140 points, an average of 10 per game.  She ranked 11th in both field goals with 42 percent (54/129) and three-point shooting with a 33 percent average (26/78). She dished out 37 assists in conference games, ranking her sixth with an average of 2.6 per game.  She was ninth in steals with 38.

“Emily evolved into a complete player by the end of her career,” said Coach Smith.  “She saw significant minutes as a sophomore because of her defensive abilities.  She really committed herself to that part of the game her sophomore and junior year and was one of the key parts to those semifinal teams.  This year, as a senior, she had to take on not only defending the other team’s best player but also contributed more on the offensive end with her scoring and court vision.  I feel she will make an instant impact at Iowa Central where she is going to further her education and basketball career.”

Ainley and Theiss were joined on the All-NCC lists by two other members of the Lion team.  Jordan Mayland was named to the Second Team and Xada Johnson earned Third Team recognition.

“I thought Jordan had a really good year.  She was our primary ball handler and true point guard that did very well against pressure,” said Coach Smith.  “She has really worked on becoming a better shooter and was able to showcase that throughout the year.  When teams tried to shut down Emily and Jaden she made them pay for it by making threes and having the opposing team think twice about their defensive strategy against us.  She will need to continue to do that for us next year and it’s an ease on a coach’s mind when a team can return a point guard that can handle the ball and score.”

Mayland, a junior, ranked second in the conference in assists with 52, an average of 3.7 per game.  She was also among the league’s top three-point shooters.  She connected on 17 of 56 attempts from behind the line for a 30 percent average, placing her 15th among NCC shooters.  She was also 15th in free throw shooting at 65 percent (11/17).

Clear Lake’s sophomore center, Xada Johnson, recorded nine blocks during the NCC season, ranking her fourth. She pulled down 81 rebounds in 14 games for an average of six per game, ranking her fifth in the league.  Johnson connected on 72 percent of her free throws (34/47), which was sixth best in the conference.  Her 45 percent field goal shooting average (28/62) ranked eighth.

“Xada continues to get better every year,” said Smith.  “I think the ceiling is really high for Xada and she can be a really dominant force for us next year.  She was a post presence that we needed this year to ease some of the pressure from our guards to try to score inside.  She had a couple break out games this year versus some quality opponents in Mason City and Garner.  She will be a big returner for us next year and will be on the top of our opponents scouting report.”

In the NCC this year Clear Lake finished first in field goal shooting (303/661) with 46 percent, second in three-point shooting (88/249) with 35 percent and fourth in free throws (135/212) with 64 percent.