Cards move one step closer with win

The Garner-Hayfield/Ventura girls wrapped up their regular season and took one step closer to a State berth with a tournament win in the first round of Regional play Saturday.  The Cardinals face Osage in the next round of Regionals tonight at 7 p.m. in Osage.  Osage topped Forest City, 60-29, in the first round.  The winner of Wednesday’s game will play on Saturday, Feb. 16, at 7 p.m. in Algona, where they 

will face either Unity Christian or Spirit Lake.

G-H/V 62, Newman 18

The Newman-Catholic Knights didn’t know what hit them when they visited the Cardinal gym on Monday, Feb. 4.

The G-H/V offense started the game off on a good note, connecting on six of eight opening shots, for an early 14-7 first quarter lead.  The Card’s defense kicked into high gear for the remaining three quarters, forcing 23 turnovers and out-rebounding Newman by 21.  G-H/V held the Knights to just 11 more points in the remaining quarters and cruised to an easy 62-18 victory.

“We shot the ball from the floor outstanding, finishing at 50 percent, while our defense held them to only 19 percent shooting,” said Coach Matt Erpelding.

A very balanced scoring attack was led by Bri Bier, Emily Spilman and Shelby Rayhons.  The trio ended with 13, 12 and 11 points respectively.  Maddie Tusha added seven points, while Grace Tusha chipped in four points.

Rebound leaders included Rayhons with five, and Spilman, Grace Tusha, Mackenzie Haag, Kim Dornbier and Hannah Hutcheson all had four boards.

Spilman and Maddie Tusha led the team in steals with three apiece.  Hutcheson and Courtney Younge snagged two steals each.

“This game allowed us to get our reserves extended minutes, which was nice as they have worked their tails off every day in practice to make our top rotation of girls what they are today,” said Erpelding.

Crestwood 56, G-H/V 55

The Cardinals proved on Tuesday night that they have a lot of fight in them and can battle with the toughest teams when they faced Crestwood in a non-conference show down.

The first half was a back and forth battle between the Cadets and the Cardinals.  Mackenzie Haag knocked down a big three-pointer heading into halftime to give G-H/V a 32-25 lead cushion.

The Cardinals rode that momentum for the first six minutes of the second half to stretch their lead to 17 points, while holding Crestwood scoreless for the first five minutes of play.

The Cadets adjusted their defensive pressure and the momentum swung. It was the Cardinals’ turn to be held scoreless for the next eight minutes.  Crestwood took the lead with two minutes remaining in the game.  Hannah Hutcheson hit a big three-pointer to knot the game at 49-49, sending the game into overtime.

Following a three-pointer by Bri Bier the game was tied at 55-55.  The Cardinals had a chance with 13.7 seconds remaining in OT to take the lead, but the team failed to execute an out of bounds play.  The Cadets were able to connect on one of two free throws to take the lead and get the win, 56-55.

“I loved the fight we had in this game.  Crestwood had tremendous size inside and outstanding guards and we never backed down to them,” said Coach Matt Erpelding.  “This was a very good game for us heading into tournaments.”

Maddie Tusha led the team with 13 points, followed closely by Bier and Hutcheson with 12 points each.  Mackenzie Haag added nine, while Emily Spilman contributed seven.  Courtney Younge rounded out the scoring with two points.

Tusha also led the team in every other category with seven rebounds, five assists and six steals.

G-H/V 52, Central Springs 32

The G-H/V girls were comfortable with where they were as a team as they headed into tournament play and that showed when they hosted Central Springs in the opening round of Regionals Saturday night.

“The way we have been playing the last month or so makes us a very tough match for anyone.  With our balanced scoring, and someone different stepping up seemingly every night, we are a tough team to defend and our defense keeps us in virtually every game,” said Coach Matt Erpelding.

The Cardinals managed an eight point lead by halftime, 22-14.  The third quarter was the deciding factor, as G-H/V put up 20-points to Central Springs’ seven.  Also contributing to the Cardinal’s 52-32 victory was - Read More Via e-Edition