Cyclones drop season finale to Trojans
Coming into the second half of Tuesday’s game at Wells Fargo Arena trailing by 11, the HCHS Cyclones girls basketball team was hoping for some magic, but couldn’t overcome the Atlantic Trojans offense dropping their regular season finale 63-41.
“That caught me off guard a little bit,” said Cyclone Head Coach Zach Klaassen. “We didn’t look like we were ready to go from the tip. It seemed like we were nervous, balls were going through hands.”
Cyclone Senior Molly Swensen made the first basket of the game from 3-point range, which was followed by a layup from Senior Grace Albertsen. The Trojan offense kept finding shots, along with getting to the free throw line leading 12-9 at the end of the first quarter.
Sophomore Peyton McLaren scored first in the second quarter on a layup, which Cyclone Senior Aubrey Schwieso responded right back with a 3-pointer, cutting the Trojan lead to two points.
The Trojan offense started the open game up with back-to-back baskets from Junior Zoey Kirchhoff and McLaren, forcing a timeout from Klaassen. When play resumed, the Trojan offense continued to surge closing out the half on a 9-2 run leading 30-19.
“Tonight, anytime we got one or two buckets going we’d give one or two up on the other end, so we just couldn’t make up ground,” Klaassen said. “I don’t know what we had for turnovers. It seemed like a bunch and not necessarily that they were forced turnovers. It was through the hands or passes at the feet.”
Albertsen got the Cyclones off on the right foot scoring a layup to open the third quarter, but the Trojan offense came out again going on a 8-0 run including a mid-range jump shot and two free throws from Senior Paytn Harter.
“She had a good night,” Klaassen said of Harter. “She’s a very good basketball player. We made things a lot harder than they needed to be.”
Cyclone Sophomore Brinley Van Baale made a 3-pointer to close out the third quarter, but the Cyclones still trailed by 19 points. In the fourth quarter, Sophomore Kenzley Bruck helped chip away at the Trojans lead with a few mid-range baskets, followed later by a 3-pointer from Schwieso, but the Cyclones couldn’t come back losing their fourth game of the season.
“Overall, it’s been a good season,” Klaassen said. “You hate finishing the regular season with this taste in your mouth. We have to come out ready to go right away and it starts in practice.”
