HCHS girls fall to Ballard

 HARLAN (Jan. 15) -- Sophomore Josie Fleischmann almost single-handedly shot the Ballard girls past Harlan Community Tuesday night, hitting six three-pointers in the third period alone as the 13th-ranked (4A) Bombers outscored the Cyclones 23-5 in the quarter and won the ball game 53-31.
 HCHS held a slim 16-15 lead at the half but couldn’t keep pace the rest of the way as Ballard drained seven treys in the third quarter and 10-of-26 overall, improving to 12-2. Fleischmann finished 7-of-12 from beyond the arc and scored 23 of her game-high 25 points after the intermission. Molly Ihle and Maggie Larson added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
 The Cyclones saw their three-game winning streak end and dropped to 3-9 on the season.
 Harlan’s best quarter was the first, which included an early 9-0 run and a halfcourt shot by Brecken Van Baale at the buzzer that made it 12-7. HCHS scored just four points in the second quarter and five in the third while committing 21 turnovers for the game.
 The Cyclones held their own from the three-point arc, making 8-of-19 attempts, but hit just 3-of-15 two-pointers and 1-of-5 free throws.
 HCHS sophomore Jocelyn Cheek made 4-of-6 threes and posted her fifth straight double-digit game with 12 points. Van Baale (3-of-5 treys) scored nine points and Macie Leinen had four points and 10 rebounds.