Cyclone girls have eyes on State
HARLAN -- It seems like ancient history now, but only two years ago the Harlan Community girls basketball team had just finished off a rare 5-17 season.
Four of this year’s seniors were major contributors on that 2018-19 squad, and three current juniors also saw varsity time as freshmen.
Those seven girls now form the nucleus of the ninth-ranked team in Class 4A as the Cyclones prepare to open regional play with a 15-5 overall record.
HCHS will host Spencer (15-7) on Saturday night (Feb. 20) in a Region 8 semifinal at 7:00 p.m. The Tigers blasted Webster City 64-10 on Wednesday while the Cyclones enjoyed a first round bye.
Saturday’s winner will take on either No. 8 Denison-Schleswig (17-4) or Boone (10-11) in a regional final Tuesday at the site of the highest remaining ranked team.
The Cyclones need two wins to earn the program’s first state tournament berth since 2016.
“If we can win a couple of games and make that trip to Wells [Fargo Arena] it would be amazing,” said HCHS head coach Zach Klaassen. “This team has come a long way since the five-win season. They are a good hardworking group of players and have done what they can to make that dream a possibility. I am proud of them no matter what happens, but we do expect to win and are not going to settle for anything less.”
Even if things go as hoped the next four-five days, the Cyclones are fully expecting two tough games. Spencer entered Wednesday night outscoring its opponents by an average of 58.1 to 45.1 and the Tigers boast shooting percentages just slightly better than HCHS across the board. Denison, meanwhile, has handed the Cyclones a pair of close losses, 40-32 and 61-57.
This time of year you have to be ready to go,” Klaassen said. “Everyone is 0-0 and looking to survive and advance. That is the way it is and the attitude you should have. You don’t want to put any extra pressure on yourself, but you do have to have the understanding that someone’s season is going to end on that night.”
The Cyclones enter postseason play on a five-game winning streak, but struggled at times in their last two games against Lewis Central and Atlantic. Coach Klaassen said he isn’t all that concerned about the 11 days between games for his team as it has given them time to “tighten some things up.”
“We have not been able to really work on our man offense lately and this is good timing for that,” he said. “Our JV has done a great job preparing us to this point and I have faith in them continuing to do so. Also, this is a good time for those kids to make strides to playing varsity minutes next year.
“It is going to take a lot of clean basketball for us to win games going forward. We have to win the turnover and rebound battles. Also, we need everyone to be an offensive threat and we have been petty good at that with our balanced scoring. The one thing that has dropped off is our communication on defense and that really needs to pick back up.”
Few teams in the state can match the Cyclones’ balance offensively among the top seven rotation players.
Junior Claire Schmitz leads the way with 10.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, followed by senior Jocelyn Cheek (10.7), senior Macie Leinen (10.2), senior Brecken Van Baale (8.9), senior Ashley Hall (6.8), junior Caitlyn Leinen (5.2) and junior Raegen Wicks (5.0).
Macie Leinen adds 6.4 rebounds per game and leads the team with 36 blocked shots. Hall has dished out 95 assists and Schmitz has 35 steals and 20 blocks.
Spencer is led by the duo of Allison Piercy (14.9 ppg., 5.7 rpg.) and Jada Piercy (11.7 ppg., 82 assists, 33 steals). Alexa Johnson also averages close to double figures with 9.7 points a night. Allison Piercy has made a team-high 43 three-pointers at a solid 41.3 percent clip.
Klaassen expects an entertaining and possibly high-scoring contest.
“Spencer looks pretty quick and has three really good shooters,” he said. “We match up well with each other and have to be ready to go.
“I look for an up-tempo game and points to be scored. We have some things that we have not shown yet this year and hopefully we can catch them off guard with some different looks. If we are not going to run anything different, they will be ready for everything we have. There are not a lot of secrets this time of year. People have been trading films like crazy since the brackets came out and everyone is trying to work deals.”
CLASS 4A, REGION 8 GIRLS BASKETBALL
First Round Scores • Wednesday, February 17
Boone 70, Perry 27 Spencer 64, Webster City 10
Regional Semifinals • Saturday, February 20
Boone (10-11) at #8 Denison-Schleswig (17-4), 7:00 p.m.
Spencer (15-7) at #9 Harlan Community (15-5), 7:00 p.m.
Regional Final • Tuesday, Feb. 23 • Site TBD, 7:00 p.m.