Cyclones cruise to home win over Huskies
Leading by just six points approaching the end of the third quarter, Sophomore Cyclone Brinley Van Baale made back-to-back 3-point shots, followed by a layup from Sophomore Kenzley Bruck, helping lead the Cyclones to their 16th win of the season over the Winterset Huskies 64-55.
“I’ve been working on my 3’s in practice,” Van Baale said. “They haven’t been falling that much this year, so it’s a really good feeling just to see them go through the hoop and without my teammates I wouldn’t get those looks, so it’s a really good feeling to help out the team.”
Cyclone Senior Aubrey Schwieso scored the first basket of the night when she drove to the hoop for a layup, which was followed by free throws from Senior Grace Albertsen.
The Cyclone offense got going when Van Baale sunk a mid-range floater, followed by a mid-range jump shot from Bruck. As the quarter was winding down, Senior Molly Swensen made back-to-back 3-pointers before Schwieso closed out the quarter with a buzzer beater 3-point shot that went off the backboard for a 20-14 lead.
“It’s always nice when you have a little bit of room to work with,” Van Baale said. “You want to keep it up though. Those two [Swensen & Schwieso] are great players, so it’s really fun.”
Schwieso opened the second quarter with a mid-range jump shot, followed by a layup from Swensen forcing a timeout from Winterset head coach Matt Young. When play resumed, Schwieso got possession of the ball drove to the hoop and made a bounce pass to Bruck, who went for a layup expanding the Cyclone lead 26-14.
Approaching the 3-minute mark, Sophomore Makenna Olson helped close the gap on the Cyclones when she made back-to-back shots, forcing a timeout from Cyclone head coach Zach Klaassen. Following Klaassen’s timeout, the Cyclones closed out the half on a 6-3 run leading 36-25.
“I was just talking about when we took the high post away we eliminated penetration, they struggled to score,” Klaassen said. “All of a sudden, [Makenna Olson] caught fire. She was on our radar before the game started. She hit two right there at the end of the second quarter there to keep it a little closer than what it was, so we focused on her at halftime that we were going to try and take her away.”
The Huskies opened the third quarter immediately getting the game back within single digits when Sophomore Natalie Smith and Senior Ashlynn Devine made back-to-back shots, which was followed soon after by a 3-pointer from Olson. However, Bruck continued to find shots making multiple mid-range jumpers to keep her team in front.
Winterset continued to keep the game close when Olson made another 3-pointer along with a layup under the hoop from Acton, cutting the Cyclones lead down to five points. The Cyclones closed out the quarter on an 8-0 run with 3-point shots from Van Baale and a layup from Bruck leading 53-39.
“She [Van Baale] hit the first one and the second one, she didn’t question anything,” Klaassen said. “It was catch and release and nothing but net. We need those kids with confidence and when they’re open they’ve got to shoot, otherwise nobody’s ever going to guard them. If they’re hitting, it makes us really tough.”
The 3-point shot continued to fall for the Cyclones when Junior Addison Wicks opened the fourth quarter with one. The Huskies continued to fight back going on a 7-0 run, before Schwieso stole the ball, and drove to the hoop for another layup. Following Schwieso’s layup, the Huskies went on another 6-0 run with back-to-back 3’s from Acton and Smith cutting the Cyclones lead down to six.
The Cyclones were able to hang on for their 16th win of the season and ninth consecutive, moving to 16-3 overall. They return to action Friday with the 9-8 Lewis Central Titans coming to town. The Titans are led by Senior Brooke Larsen averaging 19.3 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game.
“When we played them at Lewis Central, he [Klaassen] had us bring a defense where one of us locks her [Larsen] down,” Van Baale said. “We did pretty good. She averages a lot per game and we kept her below 10, so it’s very helpful when we do that. I’m not sure what the plan is yet, but I’m sure we’ll have a plan for her and the rest of the team. It should be a good game.”
