GHV girls struggle through a tough week

Last week wasn’t what the Garner-Hayfield/Ventura girls were hoping for, as they dropped two contests to move their record to 13-6 in the North Iowa Conference and 14-7 overall.

Osage 50, GHV 38

It was a battle from the start when the GHV girls traveled to Osage on Tuesday, Feb. 3, to face the undefeated Green Devils (18-0, 20-0).

“We got off to a good start, but then allowed them some offensive put backs which let them get going offensively,” said Coach Matt Erpelding.

The Cardinals came ready to play and jumped to an early 9-2 lead before Osage found their scoring groove.  Collecting eight unanswered points, the Green Devils took the lead, 10-9, to end the first quarter.

Osage didn’t relent, as they went on a nine-point run in the second quarter and took a seven-point lead into halftime, 22-15.

GHV couldn’t get any closer in the third quarter, with both teams scoring 11 points, 33-26.

The Cardinals got to within six points behind a two pointer by Sydney Younge, 38-44, but that was as close as the score got.  Osage finished with the win, 50-38.

“We fought back in the second half, but just couldn’t get over the hump,” said Erpelding.  “I was proud of the way we battled from the start and never quit.  The game was a lot closer than the score might indicate.”

The Cardinals were without point guard and a leading scorer for the team, Emily Spilman.

“It is not an easy task when you have to replace 26 minutes a game at the point guard position, but several girls gave us quality minutes to fill that void,” said Erpelding.

Hannah Lau led the team on both offense and defense, with 13 points, six rebounds, two steals and one assist.

Sydney Younge also had a good night with nine points, five rebounds and one assist.

Jillian Heitland contributed four points, four rebounds and had three assists.

Grace Tusha had six rebounds and four points, while Mackenzie Haag had three points, three assists, two steals and two blocked shots.

Algona 49, GHV 32

It was a tale of two halves for the Cardinals when they hosted Algona on Saturday, Feb. 7.  A strong first half turned into a not so great second half, as GHV fell, 49-32, to the Bulldogs.

“This was an even game until late in the third quarter,” said Coach Matt Erpelding.  “Our first half defense was very successful.  We just weren’t real effective on the offensive end, which allowed them to stay in the game.”

GHV opened strong in the first quarter and took an early 8-4 lead behind a three-point shot by Mackenzie Haag.  The Cardinals held on for a 9-7 first quarter lead.

With 1:53 remaining in the second quarter, the Bulldogs got their first lead of the game to go up, 18-17.  Algona took a two-point lead into halftime, 22-20.

The Cardinals just couldn’t make a shot in the second half and Algona held them to 12 total points in the half.  A 13-point unanswered run in the fourth quarter sealed the 49-32 Bulldog victory.

“If I had to pick one negative out of this game, it would be that we got out hustled for a majority of the game,” said Erpelding.  “That is something that I rarely see from my girls, but I know we will bounce back.”

Hannah Lau led the team on both offense and defense with 12 points, nine rebounds, one steal, two blocked shots and two assists.

Rounding out the scoring was Mackenzie Haag with eight points, Jillian Heitland added seven and Payton Bamrick had four.  Grace Tusha scored one point.

Tusha and Sydney Younge had strong nights under the boards, with Tusha hauling in nine rebounds and Younge pulling in six.  Haag and Heitland had four rebounds apiece.

Haag led the team in assists with three and she had two blocked shots and one steal.

The GHV girls will face Algona again in the opening round of Class 3A Region 2 on Saturday, Feb. 14, at Algona.  Game time is 7 p.m.