Clarke girls/boys hoopsters drop two

LEON — Even without an injured Emma Atwood, Central Decatur defended its home court with authority in a 68-31 win last Tuesday.

Alli Masters netted 27 points, and as of Tuesday afternoon was averaging 22.8 points per game for the Cardinals (4-0). She also added seven steals, nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks.

Abbie Ridgeway added 16 points in the win.

Central Decatur picked up wins over Martensdale-St. Marys and Grand View Christian after Clarke.

Masters scored 31 points on 14 of 17 shooting in the win over Grand View Christian.

No Clarke player scored more than nine points in the loss, but CeJay Blakely tossed in a season-high seven points.

Home game

The Indians led most of the way, but dropped an absolute thriller 61-59 at home against Chariton Friday.

Ivy Swarthout’s 20 second-half points proved the difference on a night she led all scorers with 26.

“We have to guard her on the three-point line,” Clarke coach Christa Subbert said. “She likes to stand out there and shoot and she’s also good at driving into the lane and finding the open girl. She’s an all-around good player.”

Megan Linskens was the best player in the floor the first three quarters on her way to 24 points, but Chariton outscored Clarke 24-11 in the fourth quarter to come from 11 behind in the fourth to win. Linskens knocked down four 3-pointers, had five assists and three steals.

Deseree Stubbe scored 13 points and Sarah Davis added 12.

Subbert believed her girls executed the gameplan well, but just a few mistakes and strong Chariton play down the stretch proved the difference.

“Charlton did a really good job. They pressured us when they needed to and they had a good game,” Subbert said.

Linskens, a junior guard, was voted the South Central Iowa player of the week after a fan vote on sports editor Kaleb Carter (@Kaleb_M_Carter)’s twitter page, for her performances against CD and Chariton.

Clarke boys drop two

LEON — The Indians boys basketball team fell to 0-3 after losses to Central Decatur (78-52) and Chariton (85-44).

The Indians led 12-9 at one point late in the first quarter, but allowed Nathan Weaver to get going down low, as he used his larger frame to score a game-high 26 points.

Dalton Stubbed and Cobey Robins led Clarke with 11 and 9 points repsectively in the loss to the Cardinals, while Robins netted 20 and Lenny Peavy scored 15 in his first game of action this season against Chariton.

Carter Boothe continues to put up momentous statlines for CD. Boothe had 22 points, 10 assists, six rebounds and five steals in the win over Clarke. Through three games, he was averaging 20.7 ppg, has 23 assists, 11 steals and 16 rebounds.