Cyclones defeat Trojans for third consecutive win
Junior Hannah Sonderman and Sophomore Aubrey Schwieso were the stars of the night Friday at home in their 57-46 victory over the Atlantic Trojans for their third consecutive victory.
“My team is getting me the ball and I do have open looks and my shots are falling,” Sonderman said.
The game got underway with the Trojans dropping the first bucket of the night. Not long after, Sonderman made a 3-point shot to give the Cyclones their first points of the night and an early 3-2 lead.
Both teams continued to match each other throughout the quarter with the Trojans taking a 17-14 lead into the second quarter.
With just under five minutes remaining before halftime, Cyclones head coach Zach Klaassen called a timeout with his team trailing by nine points. Klaassen’s words must have rubbed off on the Cyclones because they went on a 10-2 run to end the half and put themselves behind Atlantic by just one point.
“We switched defenses,” Klaassen explained. “Defensively, we just weren’t rotating, covering up that backside block. They were just kicking our butts on that backside offensive board put back and they got a couple of and 1’s out of it, and they were just killing us on that.”
The third quarter got going with the Trojans dropping the first bucket to give themselves a 3-point lead. On the next possession, Schwieso hit a shot from downtown to tie the game at 29 points apiece. A few minutes later, Trojan head coach Daniel Vargason called a timeout with his team trailing by two.
The timeout didn’t affect the Cyclones with Sophomore Molly Swensen hitting a clutch 3-point shot to extend the Cyclones lead to 10 points, forcing another Atlantic timeout.
Junior Ava Monson got in on the action hitting a 3-pointer herself, but then the Trojans hit a buzzer beater to keep the scoring within single digits entering the final quarter.
With the fourth quarter approaching the halfway mark, Swensen made a bucket to put the Cyclones up by 11 points, forcing another timeout from Vargason.
Senior Trojan Madison Huddleson was fouled with just over a minute and a half remaining in regulation. Klaassen called a timeout. When play resumed, Huddleson made 1 of 2 free throw attempts, cutting the Cyclones lead to six points.
The Cyclones made a few more shots down the stretch to put themselves back up by 10 points, but Huddleson made a 3-pointer, bringing the Trojans back within seven points.
Ultimately, the clock expired with the Cyclones winning 57-46, celebrating their ninth victory on the season. Sonderman finished her night with 14 points, while Schwieso had 16. No other Cyclone scored in double digits.
“She reminds me of the player she was last year,” Klaassen said of Sonderman. “She got a couple of decent layups tonight as well. She’s been doing all that we ask of her and she’s been doing a good job here.”
The Cyclones return to action Monday night at home at 6 p.m. to battle the 7-7 Kuemper Catholic Knights, who are coming off a 66-37 loss in their most recent game to the Bishop Heelan Crusaders. The Knights are led by Senior Catherine Mayhall with 141 points and 49 assists.
“It’s important to not take a step back,” Klaassen added. “Keep the intensity, keep the teamwork going, keep the ball moving and communicate on defense. The rebounding has got to take another step up.”