Cyclones earn win over Spoofhounds
The HCHS Cyclones girls basketball team continues to stay hot winning their seventh consecutive game 67-55 Thursday night at home against the Maryville Spoofhounds.
“We played well,” said Cyclone Head Coach Zach Klaassen. “I thought we got out of the gates really well. They [Maryville] were pressing us. We were cutting it up getting easy buckets. We were scoring inside and getting to the hoop as well.”
Sophomore Spoofhound Claire Walter made the first shot of the game on a free throw, but then the Cyclones went on a 9-0 run forcing a timeout from Spoofhound head coach Del Morley.
When play resumed, both teams got locked into a back-and-forth affair until Cyclone Senior Aubrey Schwieso made a layup, followed by an assist to Senior Grace Albertsen who went for a layup, forcing another timeout from Morley.
Sophomore Spoofhound Grace Stiens made a layup to cut the Cyclone lead back to single digits. Following Stiens layup, both teams continued to exchange buckets with the Cyclones leading by six heading into the second quarter.
The Cyclones opened the quarter on a 6-0 Albertsen run where she made three layups, putting the Cyclones up 31-19.
“They [Maryville] didn’t really have eyes on me pretty much the whole second quarter,” Albertsen said. “I was able to find those open spots and my teammates were able to find me.”
The Spoofhound offense managed to get back in the game going on a 10-5 run to close out the half with the Cyclones leading by seven.
“We needed to keep our lead and not let them back in it,” Albertsen added. “Keep doing what we were doing and finish out the game.”
Schwieso opened the third quarter with a finger roll layup. Junior Spoofhound Payton Kurz answered back with a mid-range jump shot, but Albertsen once again continued her dominance at the basket with another layup.
The Spoofhounds managed to cut the Cyclone lead down to five points when Walter and Kurz scored, but Sophomore Cyclones Kenzley Bruck made a mid-range jump shot, followed by a layup from Schwieso, along with the last shot of the quarter coming from Albertsen on a layup leading by eight points heading into the final quarter.
“I thought we made some good extra passes,” Klaassen said. “We got a couple of reversals in there where we hit Grace on that backside block. Kenzley was back on, high and soft, so that was good to see. It was working inside.”
Senior Cyclone Molly Swensen assisted the ball to Bruck to open the fourth quarter where Bruck went for the layup. However, Walter got her team back within single digits when she made two free throws, followed by a mid-range shot.
Albertsen and Bruck continued their dominance at the hoop with more baskets to move their lead back to double digits. A few plays later, Schwieso came down court, missed a shot from 3-point range, but Sophomore Brinley Van Baale obtained the rebound and made the layup, which started a 6-0 run.
“That was huge,” Klaassen said of Van Baale’s basket. “We needed a bucket at that point and time. She was right where she needed to be. It seemed like it floated in the air forever. Her shots looks good in practice and we’ve just got to get it looking good in the game.”
The Cyclones closed out the Spoofhounds for their 14th win of the season, moving to 14-3 overall. They won’t rest for long returning to action Friday at home against the 6-11 Creston Panthers. The Panthers are led by Junior Kadley Bailey averaging 18.5 points, Junior Ella Turner averaging averaging 6.2 rebounds, and Junior Hollynn Rieck averaging 5.8 assists per game.
“I think we’ll be good,” Albertsen said. “We’ll go into it like any other game. It’s always 0-0 to start, but we’ll put in the work, and hopefully come out on top.”
