Team effort leads to Cardinal victory

Monday night’s victory at North Iowa for the Garner-Hayfield/Ventura girls basketball team was a team effort.  When you can beat a team by 25 points, a lot of girls get to see action.

“The starters played very few minutes with each other and no matter what combination of girls we had on the floor, they all played well together,” said Coach Matt Erpelding.

The stingy Cardinal defense held North Iowa scoreless in the first quarter for a score of 11-0.  GHV went on to score six more points before the Bison even got on the board, 17-0.  By halftime, the Cards had a 20 point lead, 29-9.

“I was very happy to see us continue to play hard and stay focused throughout the game, regardless of the score,” said Erpelding.

GHV had another big run in the second half, collecting nine straight points to move up, 38-11 on their way to the 41-16 victory.

The scoring was very balanced for the Cardinals.  Grace Tusha and Emily Spilman scored eight and seven points respectively.  Hannah Lau added six, while Payton Bamrick and Jillian Heitland added four points each.  Taryn Carolus and Tiara Van Gerpen had three points apiece and Olivia Buseman, Mackenzie Haag and Sydney Younge rounded out the scoring with two points each.

Tusha and Lau both had 10 rebounds to lead the team.  Heitland grabbed five and Carolus and Younge had four rebounds apiece.

Spilman led the team in assists and steals, with three assists and six steals.  Lau had three blocked shots and Tusha had two blocked shots.

“I thought Payton (Bamrick) and Taryn (Carolus) really took advantage of the extended minutes they received and played well,” said Erpelding.

The Cardinals are home on Tuesday, Jan. 6, as they face Osage.  Game time is 6:15 p.m.