Patriot Girls Finish 3-1 in Conference Tourney
The Lady Patriots played three exciting games in the annual girls’ basketball East Husker Conference tournament that kicked off on January 31. Clarkson-Leigh first played Stanton, then North Bend, and finally Tekamah-Herman.
In the first round, the #7 Lady Pats drew #10 Stanton and played at home. Both Stanton and Clarkson-Leigh only had three points after the first quarter. It was a relatively low scoring game with both teams struggling to get any shots to fall. The final score reflected the struggle with it ending up 28-16 in favor of the Pats.
"Defensively, we played a great game in the first round. We were able to limit Stanton to 16 points and force 26 turnovers,” Head Coach Matt Murren said. “We struggled to get flow offensively that night as we weren't able to convert scoring opportunities. Wins in the conference tournament are always great though.”
Because Clarkson-Leigh beat Stanton, they advanced to play North Bend Central in the second round of the EHC tournament. The Lady Pats knew it would be a tough game going in because NBC is one of the top-ranked teams in C1. The Patriots started out a little rough and struggled to rebound the ball on the defensive end resulting in a score of 20-39 after the first half. Clarkson-Leigh battled back, though, in the third and fourth quarter but still lost to the Tigers.
“Against a great North Bend team, we played with great energy and effort all night. We weren't able to defend the drive lanes on the defensive side and it costs us in the first half,” Murren said.
Junior, Alissa Kasik said, “Overall, we played hard, but we just came across a really good team. We gave lots of effort and worked on the finishing touches for our squad before districts hit.”
After the loss against North Bend Central, the Patriots dropped into the consolation bracket and played Tekamah-Herman for the second time this season. The Patriots started the game off strong and outscored the Tigers in the first half by 7 points. They allowed Tekamah-Herman to come back in the end with the Tigers hitting two deep threes to bring the score deficit to three points. The final score was 44-41 in favor of the Lady Patriots.
In the Tekamah-Herman game, we handled the ball great. It was a game that we were able to dig deep and scrap out a win,” Murren said.
After finishing the Conference Tourney with a 3-1 record, this brings the Patriots’ season record to 15-5.
v. Stanton
1 2 3 4 Final
C-L 3 11 4 10 28
Stanton 3 9 3 1 16
Individual Stats: (points, rebounds, assists, steals)
Ashlynn Novotny: 6, 2, 0, 4; Kim Stodola: 2, 2, 0, 5; Kennedy Settje: 3, 4, 2, 1; Bailey Lemburg: 0, 1, 0, 1; Cassidy Hoffman: 7, 2, 1, 4; Alissa Kasik: 10, 1, 1, 1; Kayden Schumacher: 0, 2, 0, 2
v. North Bend Central
1 2 3 4 Final
C-L 9 11 10 8 38
NBC 17 22 7 10 56
Individual Stats: (points, rebounds, assists, steals)
Ashlynn Novotny: 12, 4, 6, 5; Kim Stodola: 2, 1, 0, 1; Kennedy Settje: 9, 3, 1, 2; Faith Indra: 8, 0, 1, 4; Bailey Lemburg: 0, 1, 0, 0; Cassidy Hoffman: 7, 5, 1, 1; Alissa Kasik: 0, 1, 1, 0; Kayden Schumacher: 0, 1, 0, 1
v. Tekamah-Herman
1 2 3 4 Final
C-L 11 15 8 10 44
T-H 13 6 12 10 41
Individual Stats: (points, rebounds, assists, steals)
Ashlynn Novotny: 8, 5, 8, 1; Kim Stodola: 4, 4, 0, 2; Kennedy Settje: 7, 2, 1, 0; Faith Indra: 2, 2, 1, 1; Reagan Settje: 0, 1, 0, 0; Bailey Lemburg: 1, 0, 1, 0; Cassidy Hoffman: 11, 13, 0, 5; Alissa Kasik: 11, 2, 1, 3; Kayden Schumacher: 0, 2, 2, 0