Central girls add three more wins
Grace Kuehl races to the offensive end of the floor in Central’s win against Turkey Valley. (Photos by Bev Hamann)
Hannah Asche scopes the floor for an open teammate in the win over Turkey Valley. The Warriors grabbed two more wins later in the week, against Clayton Ridge and South Winn.
Delaney Scherf works around a Turkey Valley defender. She scored five points in the victory.
Lexi Loan keeps a Clayton Ridge player from getting to the basket.
Ashlyn Scherf guards a Turkey Valley player in Central's Jan. 25 win.
By Willis Patenaude, Times-Register
After suffering their third loss of the season the week prior, the Central girls basketball team got back on track last week, winning all three games and holding on to second place in the conference at 11-2 (14-3 overall).
The winning started in a Jan. 25 nail biter versus Turkey Valley. The Warriors eked out a 45-42 victory with some clutch free throws from Haley Frieden at the end of the game and a defense that didn’t allow the Trojans to get a game tying three point shot off.
“We had a battle on Tuesday against Turkey Valley. We led a majority of the second half and secured the victory with two free throws from Haley Frieden and great team defense in the last 25 seconds of the game,” coach Mark Wiley said.
Ashlyn Scherf stepped up with 14 points, on 6-11 shooting. Frieden was next with 12 points, followed by Delaney Scherf with five, and Hannah Asche and Gracie Cummer each with four.
The team finished with a 45.7 shooting percentage and 28 rebounds. Surprisingly, they were out-shot by the Trojans, who took 50 shots to the Warriors’ 35, but Central was more efficient from the field. Part of the shot disparity came from the Warriors committing 26 turnovers and giving up 13 steals.
The defense finished with 12 steals of its own, with Frieden grabbing three and Asche, Grace Kuehl and Cummer each finishing with two.
The following game against Clayton Ridge was a little less scary, as the Warriors took the win 49-32. The leading scorer was D. Scherf with 17 points, followed by Frieden with 12. Asche added eight, which is above her season average, and A. Scherf finished with five.
The team didn’t shoot as well in this game, finishing at 29.6 percent from the field and 23.8 percent on three-point shots. This low number is something Wiley commented on.
“We have not shot the basketball well from beyond the arc, but this being said, we have done a good job of scoring at the rim after our loss to North Fayette Valley,” he said.
The Warriors lowered their turnover number to 11, while getting 17 steals and five blocks on defense. A. Scherf had four steals, Lexi Loan three and four players finished with two. As for blocks, Frieden had four, while Loan had one.
“The first quarter was close…but our second quarter defense was the difference. We only allowed Clayton Ridge four shot attempts in the second quarter on and held them scoreless,” Wiley said.
The final game of the week was versus South Winneshiek, and it was the easiest for the Warriors, as they controlled the game from start to finish and won 40-15.
D. Scherf was back leading the team in scoring, with 20, followed by Loan with seven, indicating the Warrior offense is becoming more diverse with available scoring options. Frieden tallied four points and Kuehl three.
The Warriors shot 35.4 percent from the floor, but struggled again on three-point shots, going 1-17, but maintained a low turnover rate of 12. The defense was aggressive, with 17 steals and four blocks. Frieden finished with five steals and one block, while A. Scherf and D. Scherf each had three steals.
“We allowed two points to South Winn in the second quarter. It has been due to our team defense that we have been successful this last week. Our on the ball and helpside defense has been spectacular. The effort has been tremendous as we forced 20 plus turnovers,” Wiley said.
“We have not played as well as we can on the offensive end, yet we are winning games, even against one of the better defensive teams we will see in Turkey Valley. Different players have stepped up and it is good to see eight or nine players scoring on any given night,” he added.
The Warriors will need all the defense they can get heading into a three-game week that will include rematches against teams they lost to earlier in the season. They welcomed North Fayette Valley (13-4), who they lost to just three games ago, on Jan. 31. In the next game, on Feb. 1, the Warriors will look to avenge an early season loss at conference leading MFL MarMac (12-4). The final game of the week is at home versus Edgewood-Colsburg (5-11) on Feb. 3.
