ROLLING INTO REGIONALS

Cyclone girls survive test from Atlantic, earn postseason spot away from No. 1 Glenwood

 HARLAN (Feb. 9) -- Following a four-point loss to Denison in late January, the Harlan Community girls basketball team had two distinct goals in mind: finish the regular season with five straight wins and earn a regional berth away from top-ranked Glenwood’s bracket.
 The 10th-ranked (Class 4A) Cyclones handled their end of the bargain, overcoming a very shaky first half to beat Atlantic 62-48 Tuesday night and finish the regular season 15-5 overall (8-2 in the Hawkeye Ten).
 “Hopefully we’ll get sent where we want to get sent,” said HCHS head coach Zach Klaassen after the game. “Our resume seems like it should be good enough to do that.”
 On Wednesday afternoon the Cyclones got the news they were waiting for. The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union placed HCHS in Class 4A, Region 8 along with No. 8 Denison-Schleswig and four other teams from the north and east. Glenwood is in Region 1.
 The Cyclones will now have 10 days off before hosting either Spencer or Webster City in a regional semifinal Saturday, Feb. 20.
 In the meantime, there is work to be done.
 HCHS trailed the Trojans (8-13, 4-6 H-10) for most of Tuesday’s first half and led by just three points early in the fourth quarter before outscoring the visitors 19-8 the rest of the way.
 The Cyclones struggled against Atlantic’s half court zone defense - particularly in the first half - rushing up quick three-pointers (they made 3-of-22 for the game) and not getting into their half court sets. There were also some early defensive breakdowns.
 HCHS trailed 21-13 in the second period, rallied to take a 25-23 lead, then gave it right back in a span of three seconds when Lauren Nicholas scored on a drive and Haley Rasmussen stole the inbounds pass and converted a three-point play.
 The Trojans went to halftime leading 28-25.
 “They were pushing us out to half court. We were so far away from getting into our half court offense it wasn’t even funny,” said Klaassen, who notched career win number 150 on the night.
 “I don’t know why we just kind of panicked a little bit, and there for a while it was just one pass, shoot it... and it wasn’t even a good look. It’s not like we penetrated and kicked. It was just [a pass] from half court and shoot it right away. Nothing lined up; we were not squared up and ready to go.”
 Points off turnovers and offensive rebounds kept the Cyclones close in the first half. Macie Leinen scored two second-quarter layups off steals and Brecken Van Baale had a three-point play off another Trojan turnover as well as a putback - also in the second quarter.
 HCHS attempted 71 field goals in the game and made 24 (33.8 percent), but they crashed the glass for 21 offensive rebounds compared to just five for Atlantic. Claire Schmitz grabbed six of the offensive boards and scored 12 of her 16 points in the fourth quarter.
 Macie Leinen finished with an impressive double-double - 21 points, 15 rebounds - while adding four steals and two blocked shots. Van Baale had 14 points and four assists, Raegen Wicks scored seven points off the bench and Jocelyn Cheek added four points, six rebounds and three assists.
 The Trojans were paced by their athletic senior guard, Rasmussen, who found a way to score 14 points despite being face-guarded all night, whether HCHS was in man-to-man or multiple junk defenses.
 Maycie Waters made a pair of first-half treys and scored 12 points for Atlantic, followed by Nicholas with 10 and Tessa Grooms six. The Trojans shot 37.5 percent but turned the ball over 17 times and attempted 23 fewer field goals than Harlan.
 Despite going cold and being outscored 37-20 in the second half, Atlantic still hung around and didn’t give up the lead for good until the last few minutes of the third quarter.
 “We just had to take whatever we could get,” Klaassen said of the night. “The second half we got a little bit better.”
 Klaassen noted that the ill-advised threes being taken reminded him of late November and early December. The Cyclones showcased a much more efficient and well-oiled offense in January and Klaassen hopes they can get back to that level soon.
 “The reason why we’ve been shooting so well since (Christmas) is because we started taking inside-out shots or penetrate-and-kick shots,” he said. “Tonight, the first half for sure, we weren’t doing that very well. We did get a couple in the second half where we were all squared up and ready to go, and had a little bit better outcome.”
 The Cyclones have now won their last two games without playing close to their best basketball. While it’s good to be able to do that now and then, Klaassen doesn’t want to make it a habit during tournament time.
 “There’s going to be a night where not playing your best is going to cost you, and it was one of those deals where it could have cost us tonight,” he said. “We just found enough offense and our defense carried us just enough to get a few turnovers and easy buckets to get that win. But we’ve definitely got to play better.
 “We are going to have to get more focused if we’re going to make a run here.”

CLASS 4A, REGION 8 GIRLS BASKETBALL
First Round Pairings: Wednesday, February 17
Perry at Boone, 7:00 p.m.        Webster City at Spencer, 7:00 p.m.
Regional Semifinals: Saturday, February 20
Boone or Perry at Denison-Schleswig, 7:00 p.m.
Spencer or Webster City at Harlan Community, 7:00 p.m.
Regional Final: Tuesday, Feb. 23 - Site TBD, 7:00 p.m.

 
 

 

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