March 28, 2024

Growing pains

Clarke basketball has much to grow and learn from in losses to Mount Ayr

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OSCEOLA – Clarke girls and boys basketball struggled with talented and athletic Mount Ayr teams Monday night, falling in the girls match 78-47 and in the boys game 64-46.

In the girls contest, Mount Ayr jumped out to a blistering 24-4 start in the first quarter to help create separation in the win.

A combination of scoring from Sam Stewart and Channler Henle torched the Lady Indians early in the contest with both having a hand in a combined nine scoring plays to open the contest.

The early scoring advantage paired with a persistent defensive press slowed Clarke early as the team showed signs of its youth at the varsity level.

“We knew from last year they were going to pressure us hard, and that happened,” said Lady Indians head coach Christa Stubbert. “We also knew they had a lot of scorers from whether it be inside or outside, so we knew our defense had to be on. I thought, for the most part, our defense moved pretty well. ... We have to do better on defensive rebounds. They got too many second chances.”

The Raiderettes picked up 10 offensive rebounds and stole the ball 20 times in its full court press from the first to the fourth quarter.

“I thought we hustled on defense. Our problem was handling their pressure. First and third quarter, we had problems moving the ball past half court. It’s hard to score when we don’t do that,” said Stubbert.

With a first quarter break, the Lady Indians were allowed a chance to catch their breath and recoup before hauling off a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to 28-20.

The margin was short lived as Mount Ayr snapped back into form, going on a 13-3 stretch before closing the half at 43-25.

“Our girls never give up, and we talked about that from day one,” said Stubbert. “No matter what the scoreboard says, we always play hard and always have a chance in any game no matter what the score is. They were ready to get after it and we were ready to handle that pressure and we came back (to down eight).”

The Mount Ayr girls stepped on the gas in the second half, expanding the lead to 30 points before the final horn sounded at 78-47.

Being able to compete early and handle a good Raiderette team shows the Lady Indians can compete against anybody if they can handle pressure defense.

“I think that gave us a lot of confidence in no matter how far we’re down we can easily come back,” said Stubbert. “If we can handle the pressure and if we can get the ball past half court, we have some people who can score for us. We’re never out of ball games.”

The Clarke girls were led by Kiaya Dunbar, who scored 16 points. Tori White had 11 point, nine coming from 3-point scores, and Kaitlyn Halsband had seven points in the loss.

Boys fall to Raiders

The Mount Ayr boys cruised in its 64-46 win over the Indians, picking up its first win of the season over a rebuilding Clarke program.

Much like the Raiderettes, the Raiders pulled ahead early and created the separation it needed in the rout.

After the first quarter, the Raiders led 24-12 with a firm grip on the momentum of the game due to a 16-4 run through the early stages of the contest.

With the foul issues early, the Raiders had no issue containing Clarke as it built up a 30-point lead at 58-28 off scoring from Isaac Grose, Payton Weehler, Dawson Frost and Dalton Elwood.

Despite Clarke’s struggles in putting points on the board, the Indians ultimately found a hot streak late in the fourth quarter.

The Indians closed out the contest with a 12-0 run which included three consecutive 3-point scores. The late fire in the Indians had Dingemann feeling this is exactly where the Indians are at right now, and knows the team needs to make steps forward every day this season.

“That was the big talk at the end,” said Dingemann. ‘We kind of figured out exactly where we are against a really good team in Mount Ayr. We know where we need to get better, ... I feel about as good as you can with an 18-point loss. ... We really worked hard, but just didn’t make as many shots as them.”

Opposing boys head coach Bret Ruggles had good things to say about the Indians, who seemingly were never completely down and out Monday night.

“All in all, I was really impressed with Clarke,” said Ruggles. “They moved the ball well, they did some nice things. That’s more of a team than last year, I would say. ... It was a much different look than what we’re used to.”

Clarke was led in scoring by Dalton Stubbe with 12 points. Taylor Henry and Brian Avalos each had 11 points in the loss. Dingemann said Avalos’ ability to step up and take on a bigger role from last season impressed him.

“He was a guy that in the last couple years, if he had a couple buckets that was usually a good offensive game for him,” said Dingemann. “He’s really been a guy we’ve called upon for defense and for rebounding. It was really nice to see him attacking the basket and trying to score. I was also really happy with Taylor Henry. I’ve been telling him for years, I just want him to shoot the ball, and if he shoots it good things will happen. ... I think our offense, we kind of know where we’re going, and I think we’re going to get better with it.”

UP NEXT – Clarke (girls, 0-2; boys, 0-1) next plays Tuesday night (Dec. 3) when it hits the road to play Stanton. Tipoff for the girls game will be at 6 p.m. with the boys game to follow.