HCHS girls shut down White, use 20-0 run to beat Saintes

 HARLAN (Jan. 5) -- Don’t look now, but Harlan Community has risen to fourth place in the Hawkeye Ten Conference girls basketball standings.
 Taking command of the game with a 20-0 first-half run, the Cyclones limited St. Albert’s top scorer, Bailey White, to just two points and no field goals Friday night and beat the Saintes 58-38 for their second straight win of the new year.
 Playing its most complete game of the season, according to coach Zach Klaassen, HCHS improved to 4-4 overall and 4-2 in conference action, trailing only Lewis Central (7-0), Red Oak (5-1) and Kuemper Catholic (4-1).
 Senior Nicole Lange led the Cyclones with 16 points (12 in the second half) and eight rebounds while Chloe Hansen added 12 points and a game-high five steals.
 “That was the best we have played this year,” said Klaassen. “I thought that the girls executed the game plan to a T.”

A big part of that game plan was playing lock-down defense on White, who scored a school-record 38 points in a blowout win over Tri-Center Thursday night and leads the Saintes (6-5, 2-3 H-10) with 17.8 points per game. Lexie Holloway and Hansen shared the defensive responsibilities on St. Albert’s top player.