CL girls fall in Regional final to Spirit Lake

    The season came to a close a few minutes too early Saturday night for the Clear Lake girls.  A fourth quarter run by the Lions fell short and they were defeated by Spirit Lake 53-43 in the Class 3A Regional final.

    “The first two minutes of the first and third quarters is where we let this game get away,” said first year head Coach Bart Smith.  “I was proud to see (the girls) make a run in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to three.  We just ran out of time.”
    The Lions came out a little sluggish, he added, but settled in to trail by only one point, 12-11, after the first quarter.  The second quarter was equally close and the Lions were down 20-18 at the half.
    Helped by five straight Lion turnovers, Spirit Lake extended its lead in the third, outscoring the Lions 16-8. 
    The never-give-up Lions mounted a comeback in the final frame, closing the gap to three points, but couldn’t get over the top.
    “Our girls battled all night.  I was proud to see them make a run in the forth quarter to cut the lead to three,” said Coach Smith. 
    He was especially pleased with the defense his team played.
    “Our girls love the challenge of shutting down the best player on a team.  KJ Veldman was held to only 11 points and is one of the top scores in the state,” he added.
    Alison Christoffer picked up the slack for Spirit Lake with effective shooting from three-point range.  She finished with 18 points.
    Clear Lake’s Logan Anderson led the Lions in scoring with 14 points.  The teams’ only senior, Meg Monson, had 13 points, including three treys.  Trudy Peterson was next with eight, followed by Kristen Hewett with five. Megan Loux added three points.  Peterson, Hewett and Loux had five rebounds apiece. 
    “ I couldn’t ask for anything more from the girls.  We had a great season with some great learning experiences through out the year.  The future looks bright for next year,” said Coach Smith.

CL 54, IF-A 23
    The Lions advanced to the Regional final with a- Read More Via e-Edition