PCM girls can’t get out of early hole against ranked Roland-Story

MONROE — PCM’s girls’ basketball team played its best quarter of the season on Jan. 15 against Class 3A No. 11 Roland-Story.

The Norse controlled the first half and held a big halftime lead, but the Mustangs rallied in the third and nearly came all the way back.

In the end, Roland-Story pulled away for a 58-45 Heart of Iowa Conference win, but PCM coach Jeff Lindsay was proud of his team for not rolling over facing a large halftime deficit.

“Based on the opponent, that was our best quarter of the season,” Lindsay said.

“I am not big on moral victories, but I told the girls that considering the grinder we’ve been through and the frustrations offensively, it would have been easy to go through the motions in the second half. They didn’t do that. That shows a lot about our character and the pride and heart that they have for what they are doing.”

The Mustangs (5-10 overall, 3-6 in conference play) have struggled offensively for much of the season, but shots began to fall in the third quarter.

Facing a 33-11 halftime hole, the home team outscored the Norse 24-6 in the third.

“We started a different lineup. We tinkered with that lineup in the preseason. I just felt like with the speed they had, it was the best move,” Lindsay said. “It helped with our defensive adjustments, too.”

Junior Regan Freland started the period with a pair of free throws and sophomore Lilli Baird followed with a 3-pointer. After Roland-Story’s Madeline Morton made 1-of-2 from the free-throw line, Freland drilled back-to-back treys.

That 11-1 run closed the gap to 34-22 and another 10-0 surge shortened the deficit to 36-32.

The second spurt was highlighted by a pair of Baird 3-pointers and four points from Freland. R-S freshman Reagan Barkema and PCM senior Camryn Wignall traded 3-pointers to end the frame, and the Norse took a 39-35 lead into the final quarter.

“We stepped up our defense. We needed to get out and play the shooters. We talked about communication at halftime, and we did communicate better. Our focus got better, too,” Lindsay said about the third quarter surge. “Offensively, the confidence started to show up and it just snowballed.”

Roland-Story (11-4, 7-2) opened the fourth quarter with seven straight points to go back up by double-figures. The closest PCM got after that was eight following a 3-pointer by sophomore Emma George.

George hit two of her three 3-pointers in the final frame and Freland scored four in the fourth.

Roland-Story made four free throws in the final 48 seconds to close it out.

“The fact we haven’t made shots has been frustrating,” Lindsay said. “Once we see a few shots go in, it’s going to get contagious. And once it’s contagious, then we’ll be tough to beat. The third quarter, that’s the type of team we can be.”

Roland-Story led 14-2 after one quarter, scoring the final 14 points of the frame. The Norse outscored PCM 19-9 in the second.

Freland finished with 22 points, six rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks. She picked up two early fouls but Lindsay let her play through them. She didn’t foul again until the fourth quarter when she was trying to stop the clock facing a deficit.

“She’s earned that. It’s the respect I have for her knowledge of the game,” Lindsay said when asked why he left Freland in the game. “If she gets a third foul, she’s also played plenty of second halves without getting a foul. The girls had to be ready to step up if she did get the third foul, but she’s earned the right to stay in there and play through it.”

Barkema led the Norse with five 3-pointers and 19 points. She was the only Roland-Story player to reach double-figures.

Roland-Story has won five straight games.

Both teams hit 10 3-pointers in the game. George hit three and finished with nine points, six rebounds and two assists. Baird nailed three treys and chipped in nine points and four boards.

Wignall scored three points, grabbed four rebounds and handed out three assists. Senior Mack Bussan pulled down four boards for PCM, which has lost four straight.

Freland hit three triples and her 22 points puts her at 982 career points.

The Mustangs played at Saydel on Jan. 22. They take on Greene County at 6 p.m. on Jan. 25 in Jefferson.

Pella 69, PCM 32

PELLA — Wignall scored 13 points, but PCM struggled to slow down Pella’s inside game and transition offense on Jan. 14.

PCM fell behind 39-13 at halftime and never recovered during a 69-32 non-conference road loss.

Wignall scored 11 of her 13 points in the third quarter. She hit three 3-pointers.

Freland added five points, five rebounds and three assists and Baird tallied five points and five boards for the Mustangs, who have lost three straight games.

George had three points and five rebounds, sophomore Celeste Wagaman scored four points and junior Sierra Foster had two rebounds and two assists.

Emily Holterhaus scored 19 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks and three steals for Pella (9-5).