Rollercoaster week for Cards

It was a week of ups and downs for the Garner-Hayfield/Ventura girls, as they went 1-2 on the week and moved their record to 8-3 in the NIC. 

Osage, 50, GHV 47

The Cardinal girls dropped a three-point heartbreaker to the undefeated Osage girls basketball team on Tuesday, Jan. 6.

It was back-to-back scoring in the first quarter, until the Green Devils went on a seven-point scoring run to end the first quarter with a 16-11 lead.

GHV battled back and tied it up 24-24.  A two-point shot by Jillian Heitland gave the Cardinals their first lead of the game, 29-28.  Osage answered that with a bucket and a three, to end the half with a 33-29 lead.

“We did a poor job closing out the second quarter,” said Coach Matt Erpelding.

The Cardinals battled back in the third quarter.  Hannah Lau connected on a three to go up, 41-37.  Although the Cardinals outscored the Green Devils 16-8 in the third quarter, they were only up by four at the end of the period, 45-41.

Scoring was sparse from both teams for a while, until Osage tied it up, 45-45, with 3:42 remaining in the game.  Osage connected on a three pointer to go up, 48-45.  Emily Spilman grabbed a steal and dished off to Lau who scored two, 48-47.  Mackenzie Haag fouled with :33 remaining and Osage connected, 50-47.  Spilman threw up a couple of three point attempts that failed and the score stood.

“In hindsight, I called an untimely timeout in the fourth quarter which didn’t help our cause,” said Erpelding.  “Other than not closing out quarters and unforced turnovers I think we played one of our best games to this point.”

Heitland and Lau both scored in double digits, with Heitland collecting 13 and Lau 12 points.  Rounding out the scoring was Spilman with nine, Sydney Younge added six, Mackenzie Haag chipped in five and Grace Tusha had two points.

Lau and Tusha led under the boards with eight and seven rebounds respectively.  Haag grabbed five rebounds and led the team in assists with four.

Spilman and Haag had three steals apiece and Haag also had two blocked shots.

Lake Mills 71, GHV 55

The Cardinals let the Lake Mills game get away from them on Friday night.  

“Our defense in the first and fourth quarters was horrific,” said Coach Matt Erpelding.  “We gave up dribble penetration consistently, which allowed them to score at will.”

The scoring was close in the first quarter, until Lake Mills picked up 10 unanswered points to go up, 19-13.  The Cardinals battled back in the second quarter and outscored the Bulldogs 16-8.  Mackenzie Haag sunk a three-pointer with 1:21 left in the half to take the lead back, 30-28.  GHV held on for a one-point lead at the break, 31-30.

The Cardinals only trailed by two at the end of the third quarter, 42-40.  It was the fourth quarter that doomed GHV, as the Bulldogs exploded with back-to-back-to-back three pointers to go up, 58-48.  Lake Mills went on to outscore the Cards 29-15 in the fourth quarter for the final win, 71-55.

“As we move forward we need to clean up our defense and learn to close out quarters smarter if we hope to win games against quality competition,” said Erpelding

Jillian Heitland had a fantastic night for the Cardinals, recording a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. 

Sydney Younge also had a great game, collecting 12 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.  Emily Spilman also scored in double digits with 10 points, to go along with her five assists, three steals and one blocked shot.

GHV 60, Eagle Grove 27

It was a total team effort on Saturday, Jan. 10, when the Cardinals hosted Eagle Grove (0-10, 0-10).

“This was one of those games in which the bench saw as many minutes as the starters,” said Coach Matt Erpelding. “This game was helpful in that we were able to sit some girls with injuries, rest the starters, and get the bench players some quality minutes.”

The first half was all GHV, as the Cards held the Eagles scoreless in the second quarter, and gained a 32-11 lead by halftime.

The Cardinals continued to roll in the third quarter, outscoring Eagle Grove, 16-4, for a score of 48-15 at the end of the third quarter.  The fourth quarter saw more balanced scoring, but the Eagles had dug themselves in way too deep to recover.  GHV picked up the 60-27 victory.

“We passed the ball extremely well, in particular to our post players, which has been an area we have been struggling with,” said Erpelding.

Emily Spilman and Grace Tusha both hit double figures, scoring 12 and 10 points respectively.  Jillian Heitland and Sydney Younge both had eight points, while Payton Bamrick and Hannah Lau each chipped in seven points.

Younge led the team under the boards with six rebounds. Taryn Carolus grabbed four.  

Spilman led the team in assists and steals, picking up four assists and six steals.

The Cardinals travel to West Hancock on Friday night, Jan. 16.  Game time is 6:15 p.m.