Lions crush Cadets, 74-14

They sputtered, ever so briefly, but when they got rolling there was no stopping the Clear Lake girls.  They flattened Iowa Falls-Alden, 72-14, in a North Central Conference game played Friday.  The Lions, rated number three in Class 3A, improved to 10-1 overall and 9-0 in the NCC.

"It took us a while to get the tempo we wanted, but our girls cranked it up in the middle of the first quarter.  After that, we finished the half really well," said Coach Bart Smith.

Starters Trudy Peterson, Bailey Kibsgaard, Lindsey Loudenburg, Madi Faber and Logan Anderson got in their licks before Coach Smith emptied his bench to give everyone playing time.

Peterson led the way with 14 points, including a pair of three-pointers.  Kibsgaard made six of seven shot from the field for 12 points.  Loudenburg put in 11 points, Faber had eight and Anderson finished with four.  Loudenburg and Kibsgaard pulled down seven and six rebounds respectively.  Each player also had four steals. 

"I thought Lindsey and Logan played really well for us," noted Coach Smith.  "The stat book doesn't measure basketball IQ or competitive energy, if it did Logan would lead those two categories every night.  She was great defensively and gets our transition offense going."

Also getting in the scorebook for the Lions was Emily Phalen with seven points, Emily Snelling with six, and Kay Faber and Katie Hewett with four apiece.  Sidney Borrill chipped in two points.  Phalen grabbed four rebounds, coming off the bench.

The Cadets scored six points in the first quarter-- their highest total in the game.  The Lions held a 42-8 halftime lead and outscored the Cadets 20-4 in the third and 10-2 in the final quarter for the 58-point victory.

"Some of the things we are working on in practice are starting to show," added Coach Smith.  "I thought we cut off the baseline drives better and we made it harder for them to get the ball to the middle of the paint, whether it was by passing it to the post or them trying to penetrate there.  It made it tough for them."