Waukon basketball girls suffer first loss of season in battle of northeast Iowa powerhouses

Perfection for the 2008-2009 season slipped through the grasp of the Waukon Indian girls basketball team over the weekend, but remained for the Northeast Iowa Conference (NEIC) season, as the Tribe split a pair of back-to-back contests. The Indians continued to take care of business in NEIC play when they blasted Charles City at home Friday, January 30, 57-37, but fell victim to a troublesome inside-outside attack of Class 2A's top-ranked team, MFL/MarMac, Saturday, January 31 in falling by a 50-40 count for their first loss of this season.

vs. Charles City ...

The Indian basketball girls hosted the Charles City Comets Friday, January 30 in an important Northeast Iowa Conference battle. Waukon, returning to action from a week since their last contest, was looking to sweep the Comets for the regular season and also looking to earn at least a share of the Northeast Iowa Conference title.

Charles City did as expected in the early going, coming out with a packed-in zone defense to try and suffocate the Indians' inside game. The Comets got what they wanted in the first quarter and forced Waukon to be patient, which really kept the pace of the game down in the early going as Waukon led, 11-10, after one quarter of action.

The Indians started to get things going in the second quarter with some nice outside shots by junior guard Carissa Berger. Waukon also got a couple of baskets down low from sophomore forward Kristyna Herman and junior center Mary Halvorson. The Comets held Halvorson to only three shot attempts in the first half, but Halvorson cashed in on two of them and the Indians took a 27-20 lead at halftime.

Waukon got things cranked up in the third quarter. It started with defense as the Indians really pressured the Comets at every opportunity. "We really got after them, forced them into some turnovers, and did not allow them to get three-point shots off the way they want to," stated Waukon varsity girls basketball coach Gene Klinge.

Those turnovers led to transition lay-ups by Berger and also by junior Logan Hjerleid. Berger continued her hot outside shooting as well, as the Indians outscored the Comets, 20-4, in the third quarter. "Carissa had a really nice game for us shooting the ball outside, which was key in defeating their zone defense," noted Klinge.

The Indians pushed the lead to 28 at one point in the fourth quarter and cruised to the 57-37 victory.

Berger led the Indians with a career-high 24 points. Halvorson finished with 12 points, hitting six of eight shots from the floor, and also had a team-high eight rebounds. Herman had eight points and five rebounds, and Hjerleid also made solid contributions scoring five points, pulling down six rebounds and dishing out a team-high six assists.

WAUKON FG FT PF TP

Meyer, T. 1 2-5 3 4

Hjerleid, L. 2 1-2 1 5

Berger, C. 11 2-2 0 24

Halvorson, M. 6 0-0 2 12

Herman, K. 3 2-2 3 8

Reiser, J. 0 0-1 2 0

Schlake, B. 1 0-0 0 2

Egan, K. 0 0-0 0 0

Sivesind, L. 0 2-2 1 2

TOTAL 24 9-14 12 57

Charles City FG FT PF TP

Hoffman, B. 1 0-0 4 2

Schlader, M. 0 0-0 2 0

Lasher, A. 4 2-4 2 12

Molstead, J. 3 2-2 4 8

Berns, L. 0 0-0 3 0

Forsyth, R. 0 0-0 0 0

Keifer, P. 0 0-0 0 0

Shrader, M. 0 0-0 0 0

Molstead, T. 0 0-0 0 0

Forsyth, K. 0 0-0 1 0

Forsyth, M. 6 3-5 3 15

Bouska, A. 0 0-0 0 0

TOTAL 14 7-11 19 37

3-point FG: Lasher 2

vs. MFL/Mar Mac ...

The Class 3A third-ranked Waukon Indian girls basketball team hosted the Class 2A top-ranked MFL/MarMac Bulldogs Saturday, January 31. In what was billed as a huge inter-class battle for bragging rights as the top team in the northeast corner of the state, regardless of classification, the teams took to the floor in front of a packed house that left fans crammed into every inch of the bleachers and even more fans standing in all corners of the new Waukon High School gym observing the game.

The Bulldogs came in winning 41 out of their last 43 games, with that span including a Class 2A runner-up finish from last season. They returned everyone back from that team this season, which boasts a starting lineup of five players ranging from 5'9" to 6'1".

MFL struck first with a three-pointer from senior guard Melissa Moon and followed with a driving basket from junior point guard Chelsey Lamker for an early, 5-0 advantage. Waukon showed some jitters early as they had a few unforced turnovers that gave the Bulldogs even more opportunities. However, the Tribe got things going with baskets from junior center Mary Halvorson and junior point guard Tatum Meyer. The Indians hung around and trailed, 12-8, after one quarter.

In the second quarter the Indians struggled to score from almost every position. Halvorson kept the Tribe in the game, however, as she drained five baskets in the first half. The Bulldogs had an answer every time, however, including two more three-point buckets from Moon and Lamker that helped push the Bulldog lead to 13 late in the second quarter and gave the feeling that the Bulldogs may pull away early.

However, Waukon got two free throws from Meyer with about 40 seconds to go in the half and then got a steal with eight seconds left and pushed the ball up the floor in time to find junior guard Jordon Reiser in the corner for a three-pointer that splashed the net at the buzzer and got the game back to a manageable, 28-20 deficit for the Tribe.

The Indians came out fired up in the third quarter, and also changed their defensive scheme a bit to frustrate the Bulldogs. This worked out well, as the Indians forced five turnovers in the third quarter, leading to a couple of easy baskets in transition to cut the Bulldog lead even further. Reiser struck again from long distance, making the score 31-29 and then junior guard Logan Hjerleid came up with another steal, drove down the floor, and found a streaking Reiser for a lay-up to tie the game at 31-31, causing MFL/MarMac to take a time-out and bringing the huge Indian crowd to its feet.

"I thought Jordon had a nice game for us," noted Waukon varsity girls basketball coach Klinge. "She hit a couple big shots to help get us back in the game."

At the end of the third quarter the game was tied at 33-33, and the game stayed close throughout the first half of the fourth quarter as well. Every possession and shot was pressure-filled as both teams slowed down scoring for the first four minutes of the final period. The Indians had several opportunities to take the lead but none of their shots hit home, giving MFL an opportunity to put the game away.

The Bulldogs' long-range shooting was a large part of them pulling away as Moon and Lamker struck again, this time on back-to-back possessions to push the MFL lead back to 44-38.

The Indians were unable to cash in their last few shots and the Bulldogs hit their free throws down the stretch as Waukon was defeated for the first time this season, 50-40.

"I thought our kids showed good heart by overcoming a 13-point deficit to a great team," stated Klinge. "But in the end, we just turned the ball over too many times, and we were one-for-nine shooting in the fourth quarter. You can't beat great teams with those things happening."

Halvorson led the Indians with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Reiser and Meyer each contributed eight points to the Indian attack.

WAUKON FG FT PF TP

Meyer, T. 2 4-5 2 8

Hjerleid, L. 0 3-4 3 3

Berger, C. 0 2-2 5 2

Halvorson, M. 8 2-2 4 18

Herman, K. 0 0-0 5 0

Reiser, J. 3 0-0 2 8

Egan, K. 0 1-2 0 1

TOTAL 13 12-15 21 40

3-point FG: Reiser 2

MFL/MarMac FG FT PF TP

Wagner, K. 3 0-3 3 6

Lamker, C. 3 6-8 0 14

Moon, M. 4 6-7 2 18

Schiller, R. 0 0-0 0 0

Blietz, E. 3 1-2 4 7

Snitker, M. 1 0-2 2 2

Wubbena, W. 1 1-2 4 3

TOTAL 15 14-24 15 50

3-point FG: Moon 4, Lamker 2

The Indians are now 14-1 on the season, including a still perfect, 9-0 in Northeast Iowa Conference play. The Tribe will complete its Northeast Iowa Conference season with three consecutive road games in this upcoming week. The Indians will make road trips to Decorah Tuesday, February 3, to New Hampton Friday, February 6, and to Cresco Tuesday, February 10 before wrapping up their regular season with a Friday, February 13 home contest with Caledonia, MN, a game rescheduled from a snowed-out January 16 date.