March 19, 2024

Quick start holds up for L-S against C-M

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COLFAX — A strong first quarter was all the Lynnville-Sully girls basketball team needed to get back on the winning track Thursday night.

Coming off their first loss of the season, the Class 1A No. 12 Hawks jumped out to a 24-4 lead against Colfax-Mingo, and that was enough to post a 62-36 win during South Iowa Cedar League play.

Colfax-Mingo played much better after the first eight minutes, but 28 turnovers was too much to overcome.

“We need to pay attention to details more. We have to rebound the ball and not just let it come to us,” Lynnville-Sully coach Jerry Hulsing said. “We didn’t rebound the basketball very well at all. I really thought we gave them too many second-chance shots that they scored on. If we rebound in those spots, it would have made a big difference. Tonight, it didn’t matter, but it will matter down the road.”

It will matter tomorrow against SICL East Division champion Iowa Valley. The Tigers and Hawks will play in Marengo to decide who gets the SICL championship trophy.

Lynnville-Sully and ninth-ranked Montezuma handed each other a loss this season. The two programs tied for first in the West Division, but the final tiebreaker came down to the alphabet, and the Hawks will play for the title by virtue of ‘L’ coming before ‘M.’

“We’ll go there (Friday) and see what happens,” Hulsing said. “The winner gets the hardware. We just need to take care of business.”

The first game between Lynnville-Sully and Iowa Valley went to overtime with the Hawks coming out on top, 53-50.

Thursday’s game against Colfax-Mingo was not that close because of a decisive advantage in the first quarter.

Lynnville-Sully broke open a close game with a 17-0 run that gave it a 24-4 lead after one quarter. Kasiah Ehresman buried two treys in the open frame, while Marissa Vos and Brenna Lanser scored seven and six points, respectively.

“We hit some 3-pointers, and we attacked when we needed to attack,” Hulsing said. “We moved the ball well and got some open looks and were able to knock down some shots.”

Colfax-Mingo coach Michelle Grant liked how her team played after a tough first quarter. She just wishes her Tigerhawk players would have followed the game plan from the opening tip.

“We knew the pressure was going to come. We just have to be ready for it,” Grant said. “They overplay on defense, and they do it well, but the back cuts are there. We set the back pick on the first possession of the second half and Mack Brown got an easy layup off the cut. That is what we were supposed to be doing from the opening tip. We would never run it.

“If we could have taken advantage of the overplay early on, I think it’s a different game.”

Part of the issue with the Tigerhawks (5-13 overall, 5-10 in the SICL) is the fact that they still don’t have a true point guard on the floor.

Jessica Albright, the team’s lone senior who is trying to play on a torn ACL, is the only point guard on the roster, and she re-injured her knee on the game’s first possession and missed the rest of the game.

“We played well against these guys both times, but we can’t avoid the big runs or the bad quarter,” Grant said.

Lynnville-Sully (19-1, 15-1) made five 3-pointers in the game, while Colfax-Mingo was 0-for-1 from long range.

Vos, Lanser and Ehresman scored 40 of the Hawks’ 62 points.

Vos led the way with 16 points and five rebounds, while Lanser had 15 points and six boards. Ehresman scored 13 points with three 3-pointers and three steals.

The Hawks’ cross-over SICL title game against Iowa Valley tips off at 7:30 p.m.

Colfax-Mingo junior Dakota Hostetter led the Tigerhawks with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

Sophomore McKeely Tjaden added 11 points and three steals. Sophomore Ries Wilson grabbed nine rebounds.

Freshman Mackensie Brown scored a career-high nine points. It was the third time she’s scored nine this season.

The Tigerhawks’ SICL cross-over game is 7:30 p.m. Friday against English Valleys, which defeated Colfax-Mingo 28-26 earlier this season in Colfax.

That game will be played in North English.

Lynnville-Sully 24-14-16-8—62

Colfax-Mingo 4-14-12-6—36

L-S (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Marissa Vos 6-4-2-16, Lanser 7/1-1-15, Ehresman 5/3-0-2-13, Mariah Vos 3-2-1-8, M. Rozendaal 1-3-2-5, James 1/1-1-3, Scandridge 1-0-1-2, Fisk 0-0-1-0, Russell 0-0-1-0, Meyer 0-0-1-0. Totals: 24/5-9-13-62.

C-M (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Russell 0-0-1-0, Albright 0-0-0-0, Tjaden 5-1-2-11, Wilson 2-0-3-4, Hostetter 5-1-2-11, Brown 4-1-3-9, Nichol 0-0-1-0, Shedenhelm 0-0-1-0, Rhone 0-1-1-1. Totals: 16-4-14-36.