Cardinals put up good fight, but Lions prevail

 Just as they did last season, the Clear Lake and Garner-Hayfield/Ventura girls were ready to do battle for the chance to move a step closer to the State tournament. Like last year, the game was filled with swings in momentum.  And like last year, Clear Lake got the victory, 53-41.

The Lions got out to a good start, leading 14-9 after the first quarter and 24-16 at the half.  But the Cardinals (16-8) emerged from the

 break with a renewed sense of determination.  They started the second half with a 9-0 run in the first two minutes that put them in the lead, 25-24.

“We had a let down to start the third quarter, which is disappointing as a team,” said Coach Bart Smith.  “They came out of halftime with more fire and a will to win than we did.  We stayed composed, which was good to see the girls respond that way.  We got some stops on defense then came down and got some quality possessions on offense.” 

The coach said a shot chart shared with his team at halftime showed the Cardinals had no shot attempts inside the lane.  

“We did a nice job defending their bigs and keeping them out of the lane.  We especially did a nice job rebounding.  We didn’t give them too many second chances, which allowed us to get into our running game.”

The Lions outscored the Cards, 19-11, in the fourth quarter. The team was propelled by a pair of three-pointers by Kaye Faber which gave them back the lead.   Emily Snelling’s free throw shooting cushioned the margin.  Snelling made seven free throws in the final 1:15 on her way to 20-points on the night.  Faber finished with 11 points.

Lindsey Loudenburg was 6/8 from the free throw line on the way to 10 points in the game.  Sidney Borrill had eight points on 4/9 shooting from the floor.  Katie Hewett had four points and a team-high seven rebounds for the Lions.

“I thought we got off to a fairly good start offensively, but I didn’t like our defensive performance early in the game,” said GHV Coach Matt Erpelding.  “But late in the first quarter we started struggling offensively and couldn’t find a way to score much the rest of the half.  We came out of the locker room with a strong performance to grab the lead, but couldn’t maintain that momentum.  We stubbled against their catchup zone and could not get in a rhythm offensively the whole night.  I liked our effort, but we just simply couldn’t get it going. It was a tough way to end the season.

Sophomore Hannah Lau led the Cards with 11 points and six rebounds.  Seniors Emily Spilman and MacKenzie Haag each had eight points, while senior Tiara VanGerpen and freshman Jillian Heitland had six points apiece.  Sydney Younge finished with two points and five rebounds.  Younge and Grace Tusha, who had a rebound and assist in the game, were also playing in their final high school game.

Spilman sparked her teams’ third quarter run with amped up defensive play. She led her team with three steals.

“Survived and advanced,” summed up Coach Smith after the game.  “We are moving on and that is what matters.”