Cyclones remain hot with 7th consecutive win

The HCHS Cyclones girls basketball team went into Lewis Central Tuesday night and took care of business, winning 55-44 over the Titans for their seventh win in a row.

“I thought we played tremendous defense,” said Cyclone Head Coach Zach Klaassen. “That kind of got us going. Offensively, we hit a couple of shots early, but defense was what carried us out of the gates.”

The Cyclone offense put up 11 in the first quarter, including holding Lewis Central to just six points. In the second quarter, the Cyclone defense once again was able to hold the Titan offense to single digit scoring leading them at halftime 28-15.

“We talked about maybe throwing a different look at them if one of their girls were to make another 3-pointer,” Klaassen said. “We just emphasized we had to stick with the plan and continued to stay underneath.”

Offensively, the Cyclones were led by Grace Albertsen, Molly Swensen, and Kenzley Bruck, who all scored double figures. Albertsen had 19, Swensen had 14, and Bruck had 10.

“She [Albertsen] was pretty efficient when she got all the boards putting them back,” Klaassen added. “Molly had two 3’s in that first half, which opened some things up for Kenzley and Grace as well.”

Only one Titan scored in double figures, Sophomore Macie Vetter with 16. The Titans best player, Brooke Larsen, was held to nine points, going one of six from the floor and seven of fourteen from the free throw line.

“I just think we put out a plan and I think the kids bought in,” Klaassen said. “It takes everybody to make that defense work. I thought we did a good job overall.”

The Titan offense got going a little more in the second half, but the Cyclones hung on for the win moving to 7-2 on the season.

The Cyclones will return home Friday night to take on the #6 ranked 10-0 St. Albert Saintes. The Saintes are led by Junior Avah Underwood averaging 15.8 points and 11.4 rebounds per game, along with Sophomore Maura Ryan averaging 3.4 assists.

“We’re looking forward to playing in front our home crowd,” Klaassen said. “We’ve got to be ready to go Friday night. We didn’t get out of the gates very well at their place. They played well. They hit some early 3’s. If we get out of the gates early, I like our chances.”