IKM-Manning girls hold off AHSTW

 AVOCA (Jan. 11) -- In a game of runs, the IKM-Manning girls found stability in their defense Friday night and led by double digits most of the second half to outlast AHSTW 60-51 and complete a regular-season sweep.
 Sophomore guard Alexa Ahrenholtz scored 15 of her game-high 22 points in the second half for the Wolves, who saw their 15-point fourth-quarter lead cut to seven before hitting 6-of-8 free throws down the stretch to improve to 11-2 overall and 9-1 in the Western Iowa Conference.
 AHSTW, which entered last week on a seven-game winning streak before falling to 2nd-ranked (Class 2A) Treynor and the Wolves, is now 8-5 overall and 6-4 in the WIC.
 “I knew it was going to be a battle. These guys have improved,” said IKM-M coach Gene Rasmussen of the Lady Vikes. “I thought they were going to be one of the top teams coming into this year in terms of vying for that top spot [in the WIC]... I knew they were going to play hard and be physical. I thought we matched their physicality and our girls were able to finish things out.”
 Claire Denning scored 16 points to pace AHSTW, Katie Anzalone had 11, Claire Harris broke free in the second half to score all nine of her points and Kailey Jones added eight.
 In addition to Ahrenholtz’s 22 points, Cadwell and Sydney Wegner both scored 11 points for the Wolves and Caitlin Muhlbauer added 10. Ahrenholtz also had eight steals and five assists while Muhlbauer had five steals and five assists.