Cyclone girls ousted by unbeaten Rams 64-44

 GLENWOOD (Feb. 22) -- Sometimes all that’s left to do is tip your hat.
 The Harlan Community girls basketball team certainly made Glenwood work during last Saturday’s Class 4A, Region 1 semifinal game, but in the end the third-ranked Rams’ explosive nature and spurtability proved too much in a 64-44 win over the Cyclones.
 Glenwood snapped a 14-all tie with a 19-4 second-quarter run - fueled by four three-pointers - and later finished the game on a 14-2 run after HCHS trailed by just eight in the fourth.
 The Rams improved to 23-0 with their third win of the season over Harlan and also beat Le Mars 86-65 in Tuesday’s regional final to clinch the program’s first trip to state since 2012.
 The Cyclones finished 13-10 - an eight-win improvement over last year - and won nine of their last 12 games following a mid-season seven-game losing streak against a rugged stretch of ranked opponents.
 “They’re a good team. They’ve got weapons at every position that can shoot it, and they shoot it at a high percentage. It’s tough,” said HCHS coach Zach Klaassen. “They’ll probably win some games (at state), especially if they shoot like they shoot here.”
 In all three games against Glenwood this season, the Cyclones proved they could hang with the Rams for decent stretches of time. All three games were close in the second half, but Glenwood’s ability to strike quickly and score in transition produced wins by 11, 36 and 20 points.
 Ram sophomore Madison Camden and freshman Jenna Hopp both hit three treys on Saturday and led all scorers with 20 and 19 points, respectively. Sophomore Abby Hughes added 11 points off the bench and junior Elle Scarborough chipped in six points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Glenwood hit 9-of-23 long range shots.
 The Cyclones were led by junior Brecken Van Baale’s 10 points, followed by Claire Schmitz, Macie Leinen and Raegen Wicks with eight apiece and Jocelyn Cheek with six.
 HCHS outrebounded the Rams 43-31, grabbing 12 offensive boards, but made only 2-of-15 threes and shot 32.8 percent overall. Macie Leinen totaled 12 rebounds while Caitlyn Leinen and Van Baale both had eight.
 The Cyclones won’t lose a single senior player off this year’s roster, which only adds to the optimism for 2020-21.