Clear Lake girls take lead in the NCC

Coach Bart Smith knew his fourth ranked Lions (3A) were ready to be tested.  And they passed with flying colors last week, recording a pair of North Central Conference and a non-conference win.  The victory over St. Ed’s gave the Lions (10-1, 9-0) the outright lead in the NCC.  After their

 busy week, the Lions are off until Friday, Jan. 17, when they host Iowa Falls-Alden.  Tuesday, Jan. 21, they will be at Webster City.

CL 72, Forest City 40

The Lions put a punctuation mark on a very good week with a 32-point victory on the road Saturday.  Clear Lake topped Forest City, 72-40, in a non-conference match-up.

“We finished well at Forest City after a crazy busy week.  The kids responded on a Saturday and continued to do the small things to get a victory,” said Coach Bart Smith.

A key to the victory was the multi-faceted attack, according to the head Lion.  Four players finished in double figures and five others also got their names in the scorebook.

Seniors Trudy Peterson and Bailey Kibsgaard topped the team with 18 and 13 points respectively.  Peterson was an outside threat, sinking four of five attempts from beyond the arc.  Meanwhile, Kibsgaard established position for points in the paint.  She also dominated on defense with seven rebounds to lead the Lions.

Lindsey Loudenburg and Logan Anderson each had 11 points and dished out nine and six assists respectively.  Katie Hewett provided the team with six points.  Madi Faber scored five and Kay Faber had four.  Emily Willms scored just two points, but recorded six steals in the game.  Anderson and Peterson had four steals apiece and the team finished with 19 in the game.  Carney Frahm rounded out the Lions’ scoring with a fieldgoal.

“We played pretty good half court defense,” added Coach Smith.  “We held their best player (Sarri Happel) to nine points in the game, which was another key.  Emily Phalen and Madi Faber made it tough for her all day to score.”

The loss dropped the Indians to 5-7 overall.

CL 66, St. Ed’s 56

The Clear Lake girls faced their biggest test of the season since their opening game against Mason City when they hosted St. Ed’s Thursday, Jan. 9.  The Lions, rated number four in Class 3A, rose to the challenge and defeated the fourth ranked (2A) Gaels, 66-56.  The victory put the Lions atop the North Central Conference with a perfect 9-0 record.

The Lions started strong, going on a 7-0 run out of the gate.  - Read More Via e-Edition