Schwieso scores 32 points in Cyclone road victory
Junior Cyclone Aubrey Schwieso erupted for 32 points during Thursday’s road win against the Atlantic Trojans to lead the Cyclones to their 12th victory of the season.
“I thought she started early, got a couple of steals, and she got some run out layups and hit her first three and her second one,” said Cyclone Head Coach Zach Klaassen. “You could just tell that she was gaining confidence for sure, and continuing to play hard and run the floor hard. It was fun to watch.”
The Cyclones jumped out to an aggressive start outscoring the Trojans 19-6, and continuing that dominance in the second quarter with shots from Schwieso and Erica Rust, taking a 32-15 lead into halftime.
“Part of what lead to that good start was our defense,” Klaassen said. “We just made defense turn into offense. I thought that’s how we got out of the gates.”
Coming into the game, Klaassen talked about how stopping Trojan Junior Paytn Harder, who came into the game averaging 16.9 points and 11.5 rebounds was going to be one of the keys to success. Harder finished with two points on the night.
“The message was we have to match her physicality, and her aggressiveness, and energy level,” Klaassen said of Harder. “I thought we did that. We held her to two points, we kept her off the boards, and I was very proud of the effort. Erica [Rust] and the girls that we playing down low on that zone did a great job keeping her off the boards. Everything kind of went the way we wanted it to go.”
The Cyclones had an even stronger second half scoring 22 in the third quarter, and another 15 in the fourth quarter with contributions up and down the lineup with Schwieso finishing with 32 points and Rust with 17. Junior Molly Swensen and Freshman Kenzley Bruck both finished with six, along with Senior Hannah Sonderman finishing with five, and Senior Ava Monson with four.
The Cyclones will be on the road Friday night at 6 p.m. for a match with the 4-11 Creston Panthers, whom have lost six consecutive games. The Panthers are led by Kadley Bailey averaging 12.5 points per game, Ella Turner with 8.5 rebounds, along with Hollynn Rieck averaging four assists per game.
“Defense travels, and sometimes it’s hard to shoot in certain gyms, but if you play defense, it doesn’t matter what gym you’re in,” Klaassen said. “Continuing to work hard with tournament time and seeding time coming up next week. We’ve got to take care of business.”
