GHV girls pull off close contests

The Garner-Hayfield/Ventura girls pulled off two very close North Iowa Conference victories to end the week with a 13-5 conference mark and a 14-5 overall record.

GHV 48, North Union 45

The gym was rocking Tuesday night, Jan. 27, when the Cardinals traveled to North Union (10-5, 10-6) for a showdown that came down to the final seconds of the game.

The Warriors came out ready to play and took an early 16-9 lead.  The Cardinals battled back and got to within three at the end of the first quarter, 13-16.

North Union took over again in the second quarter and scored six unanswered points to go up, 22-13.  The Warriors hung on to the lead and went into halftime with a comfortable 10-point spread, 33-22.

“We went with a bigger lineup in the second half and made some adjustments on both ends of the floor,” said Coach Matt Erpelding.

The halftime talk and adjustments obviously did wonders for the Cardinals, as they came back and rained down shots, scoring 12 in a row to take the lead, 34-33.  

“We were able to really confuse them with our defense, which resulted in them struggling to get any good looks at the basket,” said Erpelding.

The Warriors didn’t roll over, however.  Halfway through the fourth quarter they managed to go up by seven points, 45-38.  GHV answered that by scoring eight unanswered points of their own to take a one-point lead, 46-45.  Emily Spilman and Mackenzie Haag made free throws in the final seconds, allowing the Cardinals to walk away with a 48-45 victory.

“I was very happy with our second half performance.  After the first half, the girls could have easily thrown in the towel.  Instead, they were determined to play the second half with a different mentality and show what we are made of,” said Erpelding.

The team was led by Emily Spilman and Hannah Lau, who both scored in double figures and played outstanding defense.  Spilman ended the game with 16 points, five rebounds, one assist and seven steals.  Lau ended with 15 points, five rebounds, three steals and one blocked shot.

Rounding out the scoring was Grace Tusha with eight points, Mackenzie Haag scored seven and Sydney Younge contributed two points.

Younge led the team under the boards, pulling down nine rebounds.  Haag hauled in five of her own to go with her two blocked shots. Tusha recorded four rebounds.

GHV 44, Bishop-Garrigan 42

It was another poor first half for the GHV girls.  Luckily, the team knows how to turn it around and get on the right track, as they pulled off a two-point victory over the Golden Bears at home on Friday night.

The first quarter was close and ended with a 10-10 tie.  The second quarter was a different story, as B-G collected 11 unanswered points, 21-10, before the Cardinals could find the basket again.  GHV closed the gap to within six by halftime, 23-17.

“We made the exact same adjustments at half that we did in the North Union game and the results were the same,” said Coach Matt Erpelding.  “We really frustrated them with our defense and they had a much tougher time stopping us on our offensive end.”

Hannah Lau knotted the score at 26-26 with 4:04 remaining in the third quarter.  A pair of free throws by Jillian Heitland at the end of the third quarter gave GHV a two-point lead, 34-32.  The fourth quarter was close the entire way.  Sydney Younge connected on a basket with :24 remaining to go up by four, 44-40.  With :11 remaining, the Golden Bears hit a shot to pull to with two, 44-42.  B-G threw up a three-pointer with no time on the clock, but missed  the shot to end the game.

Hannah Lau and Emily Spilman again led the team, with 12 and 10 points respectively.  Grace Tusha and Sydney Younge each scored seven points.  Rounding out the scoring was Jillian Heitland with five and Mackenzie Haag collected three points.

Lau led the team under the basket with six rebounds.  Tusha grabbed five and Spilman, Younge and Haag hauled in four apiece.

Spilman led the team in steals with four.  Haag led the team in assists with six, followed by Spilman with four.

“For the second night in a row, we only had 11 turnovers, which was vital in our success in these tight games,” said Erpelding.  “This was a very big win for us as we continue our battle for second place in the conference.”

The GHV girls are home on Saturday, Feb. 7, when they host Algona.  Game time is 6:15 p.m.