The Class 3A No. 10-ranked Clarke Lady Indians suffered a pair of setbacks — a 55-51 loss to Eddyville-Blakesburg on Friday and a 44-36 loss to Class 1A No. 1-ranked Bedford on Monday — but the biggest loss came in the Eddyville-Blakesburg game.
Trailing by six with just 1.9 seconds left, the Lady Indians rolled the ball to half court in an attempt to keep the clock from running as they tried to get off one last shot.
As an Eddyville-Blakesburg defender went down to try to steal the ball, Clarke senior Kacey Klemesrud leaned down to pick the ball up, and the two collided head-to-head.
“Kacey was carted off the floor with half of a second left in the game,” head coach Eric Zoske said. “That was the toughest thing I’ve ever had to go through as a coach. She was down on the floor for about 45 minutes or so. We lost more than just the game that night.”
Klemesrud, who Zoske said was impacted on the inside of her nose and cheek, was diagnosed with a mild concussion.
“She’s for sure out for two weeks,” Zoske said Monday night. “She’s here tonight. It’s good to see her here. First and foremost, her health means more than anything, so we’ll just take it slow, and whenever she can come back, she can come back when the doctors clear her and whenever she’s ready to come back, as well. Until then, the only thing we’re hoping for is for her to get better.”
Klemesrud ranks second on the team, averaging 12.6 points per game.
Bedford
Cold first-half shooting sunk Clarke in a loss to Bedford here on Monday.
The Lady Indians came into the game hoping to keep the score in the 30’s by limiting possessions.
But, Clarke shot just 5-of-19 from the field in the first half despite having open looks.
“I told the girls at halftime, I don’t think we’ve taken one bad shot yet except for that one with eight seconds left in the half and they come down and bury a three,” Zoske said.
That Bedford 3-pointer gave the Bulldogs a 21-10 lead at halftime, which eventually stretched to as much as a 15-point lead in the second half before the Lady Indians closed it to an eight-point margin.
For more on Clarke's game against the top-ranked Bulldogs, visit www.osceolaiowa.com.