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Central girls finish week 1-2 after struggling on both sides of the ball

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Fern Diersen looks to break up a pass in Central’s loss to Crestwood. (Photos by Bev Hamann)

Grace Kuehl grabs a rebound against North Fayette Valley. She finished the game with three total.

By Willis Patenaude, Times-Register

 

The Central girls basketball team endured another down week, going 1-2 after being unable to overcome turnovers and defensive pressure. 

 

The week started off promising, with a narrow 44-42 victory over Clayton Ridge. Central pulled out the win despite entering the fourth period down by a point. 

 

Delaney Scherf led the way in scoring, with 20 points, and Ashlyn Scherf added eight points off the bench. Haley Frieden and Hannah Asche had seven points apiece, while Abby Cummer rounded out the scoring with two points. 

 

Frieden had a good game on the defensive end, pulling down nine rebounds, while teammate Ashlyn Scherf grabbed five rebounds and Cummer and Asche each had four. 

 

“We battled for rebounds in all four quarters. We were able to get just enough offensive rebounds to make a push ahead in the fourth quarter,” head coach Mark Wiley said.  

 

Fern Diersen, Delaney Scherf and Ashlyn Scherf each had two steals in the game. Frieden had one. 

 

This was a different type of game than the one played earlier in the season, when Central dominated the turnover battle. 

 

“Clayton Ridge did a better job of taking care of the basketball than our first meeting in December. This limited our ability to get out in transition. We did get five steals in the second half and four of those in the fourth quarter. This was the difference in the game, as we got 12 points off those turnovers,” Wiley said.  

 

The following game against two-win Crestwood ended in a shocking 54-34 defeat, as the Warriors were unable to stop Crestwood’s shooting or overcome their defense, which shut down the driving lanes. This held the Warriors to two points in the third period. Central’s 34 points were the second-fewest scored against Crestwood all season. 

 

“The difference, as you can see in the box score, was the third quarter. Crestwood came out and defended at a higher level. We, likewise, were not as active on the defensive end, didn’t create turnovers like the first half and didn’t have easy looks at the basket,” Wiley said. 

 

Frieden was the leading scorer with nine points. Ashlyn Scherf and Delaney Scherf each had seven, Asche had five and Grace Kuehl totaled four points off the bench. 

 

Frieden also led the team in rebounding with six, along with three blocks. Diersen and Grace Kuehl had three rebounds apiece. 

 

“We were out-rebounded by 10 and that led to us only having 44 field goal attempts in the game. Rebounding is key in preventing a team that doesn’t typically shoot the basketball from getting in a rhythm. Unfortunately, Crestwood found their shooting stroke in the third quarter. We likewise were locked down on the offensive end with driving lanes closed for our guards and post players unable to distribute the basketball inside out,” Wiley said. 

 

Also on the defensive side, Delaney Scherf grabbed seven steals in the game, Asche had three and Diersen, Kuehl and Ashlyn Scherf each had one. It should’ve been a turning point in the game, but the Warriors failed to capitalize. 

 

“We were able to force 19 turnovers and grab 13 steals, but only scored 10 points off of those turnovers. Likewise, Crestwood scored 19 points off of our 17 turnovers,” Wiley said. 

 

The Warriors followed that surprise loss with another loss, this time to conference-leading North Fayette Valley, who won 50-33. Central held an early five-point lead heading into the second period, but NFV began pulling away and never looked back. 

 

Summarizing the game, Wiley said, “We won the rebounding category 30 to 28 and second chance points were even at 10 for NFV and Central. The category that hurt us, especially in the second half, was turnovers. We had 15 in the second half and 26 for the game. This led to 28 NFV points. We did break their full court press well throughout the night. It was once we got into the half court that we didn’t make good decisions and the TigerHawks locked down defensively.”

 

As for Central’s statistical leaders, Delaney Scherf led the team with 11 points and Asche had eight. Carly Kluesner and Madison Sylvester had four points, while Frieden had three. 

 

Frieden once again led the team in the rebounding category, with eight boards. Carly Kluesner pulled down four rebounds, and Kuehl and Cummer each had three.

 

Additionally, Kuehl, Asche and Delaney Scherf each had two assists in the game. Diersen had one. 

 

Delaney Scherf was active on the defensive end with five steals, and Ashlyn Scherf picked up two. Sylvester, Kaitlyn Wiley and Frieden each had one. 

 

“We were limited in the assist category, [and] we didn’t get a lot of clean perimeter looks or opportunities in the paint,” Wiley said. 

 

The Warriors look to rebound and make much needed adjustments with another busy week. They will travel to Turkey Valley (11-5) on Tuesday, Jan. 26, before facing Kee (7-7) in a home make-up game on Thursday, Jan. 28. Central will finish the week at South Winneshiek (2-12) on Friday, Jan. 29. 

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