ALBIA — The season stayed alive for the Clarke girls basketball team at Albia Saturday when the Lady Indians raced out to a big lead and held off a feisty Blue Demons bunch to advance on in regional play with a 52-42 victory.
Clarke picked up a win after losing twice to Albia in South Central Conference play.
“Early in the game defensively we got stops and forced turnovers and turned those into points on the offensive end,” coach Christa Subbert said. “When things start falling early for us, it seems like everyone’s confidence levels go way up. We executed well on offense and got up early.”
Deseree Stubbe poured in 24 points, had 10 rebounds and four steals and Megan Linskens dropped a cool 19 points, which included three made treys. She also tallied six assists.
The 31-15 halftime advantage shrunk to four late in the game, but Clarke made the necessary plays to pull out the win.
“Even when Albia went on a run that second half, we kept calm and confident and we finished it,” Subbert said. “Someone told me it’s the first time we have won a first round game in about five years or so (2012-2013), so it’s a great feeling! I’m very proud of the girls.”
Lady indians drop game to Bulldogs
Clarke dropped a close regular season finale to Van Meter here in Osceola last Thursday 73-64.
The game was a fight all the way through, before the Bulldogs made a run at the end and outscored the Lady Indians 22-12 in the fourth quarter.
Deseree Stubbe had yet another sharpshooting night with 25 points on eight made baskets, including a trio of 3-pointers. She also contributed 11 boards and four assists.
Megan Linskens added 17 points and four assists as Clarke dished out 16 team assists.
Kaitlyn Halsband contributed nine points, while Ashlynn Oehlert and Sarah Davis scored six points each.
Clarke competed at Nevada Tueday evening in the Class 3A Region 6 semifinals. The paper is finalized Tuesday afternoon. Coverage will be in next week’s Sentinel-Tribune.