G-H/V girls fall hard to Bison, 50-36

A slow start doomed the Garner-Hayfield/Ventura girls basketball team to a 50-36 loss to North Iowa on Tuesday, Dec. 18.

The Bison took advantage of a poorly executed press break by the Cardinals to take a 13-6 first quarter lead.  G-H/V corrected some errors from the first quarter and outscored North Iowa 11-8 in the second quarter, but still trailed by four, 21-17.

The third quarter saw even scoring by both team, with each scoring 11 points.  The Bison took over in the fourth quarter and outscored the Cardinals 18-8 to win the game.

“We struggled once again making shots within our offense,” said Coach Matt Erpelding.

The Coach praised Emily Spilman, who came off the bench and scored 10 points.

“Emily continues to work on the things she has been asked to and has improved her minutes in the last two games,” said Albertson.

Rounding out the scoring was Tiara Van Gerpen with eight, Mackenzie Haag added six, while Bri Bier had four and K. Dornbier and Shelby Rayhons each had three points.  Grace Tusha had two points.

Haag led the team in rebounds with five, while Spilman, Bier and Hannah Hutcheson all had four rebounds.  Rayhons and Tusha each had three rebounds.  

Bier led the team in assists with four.  Picking up two steals apiece were Van Gerpen, Bier and Hutcheson.

“I need to use the holiday break to evaluate what we are trying to accomplish and decide what changes need to be made to best fit this team,” said Erpelding.

The Cardinals are now in a four-way tie for second place in the North Iowa Conference with a 2-2 record.  North Iowa and West Hancock led the conference with perfect 4-0 records.