Saintes dominate second half, end drought vs. Cyclone girls

 COUNCIL BLUFFS -- Down one starter and facing the Hawkeye Ten front runner, Harlan Community hung around for a half Friday night before St. Albert’s three-point shooting and pressure defense proved to be too much.
 Trailing 32-24 at the break, the Cyclone girls were outscored 31-5 during the first 11 minutes of the second half and suffered a 67-37 loss at the hands of the surging Saintes.
 St. Albert, which showed no letdown following its one-point win at Kuemper earlier in the week, topped HCHS for the first time in at least 16 years and extended its current win streak to seven.
 The Saintes (9-2 overall, 4-0 in the Hawkeye Ten) hit 11-of-31 three-pointers and forced 24 Cyclone turnovers with the aid of a three-quarter court zone press.
 The Cyclones, who were playing without junior forward Nicole Lange due to illness, scored four first-half baskets directly off breaking the press and posted 20 second-quarter points, but managed just one field goal and five points in a game-changing third quarter. They dropped to 3-5 overall (2-3 in conference play) and have now lost four times by at least 25 points during the first half of the season.