CL girls stand at 11-3 in conference play

The Clear Lake girls set up their important game with St. Ed’s with victories over Clarion-Goldfield and Eagle Grove, but a slow start prevented the Lions from upsetting the conference leader.  The Lions are now 12-4 overall and 11-3 in the North Central Conference.  With their win, St. Ed’s earned some breathing room at the top of leader board.  The 

Gaels top the list at 14-2, followed by Hampton-Dumont at 12-2 and the Lions at 11-3.  Algona and Iowa Falls-Alden round out the top half of the standings at 9-5.

The Lions travel to Eagle Grove Friday and then return home to play Algona Tuesday, Feb. 5.  

CL 71, C-G 24

In what may have been the understatement of the season, Coach Bart Smith noted his team had one of its best starts  Tuesday, Jan. 22, against Clarion-Goldfield.  The numbers don’t lie.

The Lions held a 23-0 lead after the first quarter and went into the halftime break up, 43-9.

“Our girls had a good focus about them and came out of Clarion with a good win.  When we make our threes we are a tough team to beat,” said Smith after the game.

The Lions connected on eight of 12 shots from behind the three-point line, led by Kristen Hewett’s four of six.  She finished the game with 12 points.    Trudy Peterson was the high scorer for the Lions.  She included two treys on her way to 14 points.  Megan Loux and Logan Anderson also had a three-pointer in their scoring line.  Loux put in seven points, while Anderson and Emily Phalen each had six points.

The lopsided score allowed Coach Smith to give his bench players a good deal of playing time- and they made the most of it.  Sophomore Katie Hewett contributed five points, Lindsey Loudenburg finished with three and Kay Faber chipped in two.

Junior Madison Faber came off the bench to score seven and seniors Kaitlyn Pitzen, Jenna Peterson and Emily Willms scored four, three and two-points respectively. 

Bailey Kibsgaard and Katie Hewett shared top honors in rebounds with four apiece. 

The Lions recorded 18 steals in the game, led by Anderson and Phalen with three apiece.

CL 57, Eagle Grove 26

Momentum was still clearly on Clear Lake’s side two days later when they faced Eagle Grove.  The Lions dominated in a 57-26 win.

“I have been pleased lately with how determined we are to go out and compete, no matter who the opponent may be,” said Coach Smith.  “We found our rhythm in the second quarter to build a nice lead going into half.”

With a 45-13 lead heading into the second half, Coach Smith chose to sit the starters and rest their legs while also giving more players experience.

“The girls who played in the second half did a nice job of competing and playing tough defense,” added the coach.  They continued to hold the Eagle to single digit scoring in the third