Cyclone girls get another shot at Bombers

    DES MOINES (March 2) -- When the Harlan Community girls basketball team played at Ballard last January, it was a night to quickly forget.
 The Cyclones lost 58-20, making only 7-of-31 total field goals while the Bombers hit 9-of-21 threes and had 20 steals defensively.
 On Tuesday afternoon at Wells Fargo Arena, HCHS (17-5) will get another shot at Ballard (21-1) when the two teams meet in a Class 4A state tournament quarterfinal game at 3:00 p.m. The Cyclones are the No. 7 seed in the field and the Bombers are seeded second.
 HCHS head coach Zach Klaassen believes that his veteran squad is much more prepared to face Ballard than it was a year ago, especially when it comes to breaking the Bombers’ dangerous 2-2-1 press.
 “We really struggled with that 2-2-1 last year. We got sped up right away and couldn’t get out of our own way it didn’t seem like,” said Klaassen.
 “We’re pretty confident that that won’t happen this year. We’re a year smarter, more relaxed and we feel good about that part of it. And it’s a bigger floor. The area you’ve got to cover as a defender is much larger. The openings should be a little bit more open than they were in their gym last year. It’s hard to press down there. Usually you don’t see a championship team pressing (in) the larger classes.”
 That being said, Klaassen knows that Ballard is a formidable foe on any court at any time.
 The Bombers average 49.8 points per game on the season (HCHS averages 59.9), but they allow just 27.6 a night and average 13.2 steals with their zone press and man-to-man half court defense.
 Ballard also boasts the 4A leader in made 3-pointers, Josie Fleischmann, who has hit 58-of-138 attempts for 42.0 percent. The Bombers’ 73.8 free throw percentage is among the best in 4A as well.
 “They’re super quick pretty much at all five positions,” Klaassen said. “Defensively, they just smother people and that’s kind of where they’ve won their games.
 “They’ve got a couple of sharp shooters (in) the Fleischmann girl... and the point guard (Molly Ihle). She’s shooting at 38 percent from the arc, but where she kills you is definitely penetration and kicking. They have a few other girls that have made a few threes, but those two have 88 of the 147 that they’ve made as a group, so we’ve got to make sure we know where they’re at at all times.”
 Brooke Loewe leads a balanced Bomber scoring ledger with 10.6 points per game, followed by Fleischmann (9.9) and Ihle (9.4). Ihle has also totaled 83 assists and 76 steals.
 Klaassen says the game plan on defense is to take away Ihle’s penetration and don’t lose Fleischmann in the half court for the kick-out three.
 “If we can just make sure we’re out on the shooters I think we’ll be okay,” he said. “Obviously it’s a little bit different environment shooting (at Wells Fargo) compared to shooting in a normal high school gym, just with the back drop and the setting where the wall is so far away. It just messes with your mind distance-wise.”
 The Cyclones, who are making their first trip to state since 2016, have outscored the opposition by an average of 59.9 to 46.5 on the season, ranking third in 4A in points per game. They also rank third in assists (16.2), fourth in rebounds (33.2) and second in blocked shots (4.6).
 Seven Cyclone players average between 11 and five points per game, led by Claire Schmitz at 11.0, Jocelyn Cheek (10.5), Macie Leinen (10.3) and Brecken Van Baale (9.3). Schmitz and Leinen combine to grab about 15 rebounds a night and Ashley Hall (6.6 ppg.) averages nearly five assists.
 Cheek’s 57 made threes are tied for second in 4A and she’s already set the single-season school record in that department. Van Baale has added 41 three-pointers at a solid 40 percent clip.
 Klaassen says the team has been practicing and preparing well since last week’s 52-43 regional final win at Denison-Schleswig.
 “We’ve got a game plan put together. We’re just trying to sharpen it up a little bit, find the weaknesses and try to correct them,” he said. “The girls are ready to go, I think. It’s just going to be when we get out on the court (they need to be) mentally ready to rock and not be overwhelmed.”
 While the Bombers may have a slight size advantage inside with 6’2” Cassidy Thompson and 6’ Meg Rietz, Klaassen believes that HCHS is the more physical team overall. He is hopeful that the Cyclones can take the floor relaxed and have fun while playing their normal brand of basketball.
 “I think the girls understand they have a chance, but at this point in time you’ve got nothing to lose and I think that’s the way we’re going to play is just go out and leave it all out on the floor and see what happens,” Klaassen said.
 “I think our shooting is just as good as theirs. If we can get Jocelyn and Brecken going, good things can happen. I feel good about the way our posts [Claire Schmitz and Macie Leinen] have complemented each other. If one of them has a bad game, the other one picks it up and they’ve gone back and forth that way lately. [And] Ashley just penetrating and kicking seems to be working pretty well.”
 Klaassen added: “I think a big thing that we need to make sure we do is continue to get on the offensive boards and get those cheap points there. That was huge for us vs. Denison. I thought we got some cheap ones (against) Spencer as well, and we can’t leave those out there. We’ve got to go get them.”
 Tuesday’s winner will return to Des Moines for a 4A semifinal Thursday at 8:00 p.m. against either Dallas Center-Grimes (20-2) or Bondurant-Farrar (15-5). The 4A championship game is set for Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
 The opposite half of the bracket includes top-ranked Glenwood (19-3), which beat HCHS twice during Hawkeye Ten Conference play, as well as Wahlert Catholic (13-9), Central DeWitt (16-2) and North Scott (15-2). The fifth-seeded Lancers have won three of the last four state titles at the 4A level.
 “4A is loaded,” Klaassen said. “I know other coaches that we’ve played throughout the year that said, ‘You guys are dang good and you’re number nine or 10.’ They said it’s the best 4A field (we’ve had) in a while. It should be interesting.”

Class 4A Quarterfinal Pairings: Tuesday, March 2
11:00 a.m. - #1 Glenwood (19-3) vs. #8 Wahlert Catholic (13-9)
1:00 p.m. - #4 Central DeWitt (16-2) vs. #5 North Scott (15-2)
3:00 p.m. - #2 Ballard (21-1) vs. #7 Harlan Community (17-5)
5:00 p.m. - #3 Dallas Center-Grimes (20-2) vs. #6 Bondurant-Farrar (15-5)
Semifinals: Thursday, March 4
6:00 p.m. - Glenwood or Wahlert Catholic vs. Central DeWitt or North Scott
8:00 p.m. - Ballard or Harlan Community vs. DC-Grimes or Bondurant-Farrar
Championship Game: Saturday, March 6, 1:30 p.m.