Clarinda Girls Basketball
Clarinda senior Maddie Cole passes the basketball Friday, Dec. 5, during a Cardinal home loss to St. Albert. Cole's 12 points led Clarinda's offense.
Clarinda freshman Aylah Johnson puts up a jump shot during the Cardinals' home loss Friday, Dec. 5, against St. Albert.
Clarinda senior Kylie Meier attacks the basket while St. Albert junior Lexie Darrington tries to block off the paint Friday, Dec. 5, during a Cardinal loss to the Saintes.
Clarinda sophomore Miley Wagoner shoots over St. Albert junior Brooklynn Rutledge Friday, Dec. 5, during a Clarinda loss at St. Albert.
Clarinda senior Addison Wagoner sets up the Cardinal offense Friday, Dec. 5, during a home loss to St. Albert.
The Clarinda girls basketball team wasted no time taking control of the game Tuesday in Red Oak, and earned a 64-36 win.
The Cardinals led 20-5 after the first quarter and expanded the advantage from there, leading 36-18 at halftime and 51-30 after three quarters.
Addison Wagoner led three Cardinals in double figures with 19 points while adding five rebounds. Carsen Wellhausen added 12 points and Kylie Meier chipped in with 10. Wellhausen just missed a double-double with nine rebounds. She also had five blocks and two assists. Meier recorded six assists three steals and two rebounds.
Maddie Cole scored seven points and collected five steals for Clarinda, Aylah Johnson had five points and two rebounds and Ellery Bird scored four points in the win, which improved Clarinda to 3-0 on the season.
Miley Wagoner, Olivia Moore and Elaina Hesse all had two points for the Cardinals while Sydney Hanson scored one. Hesse added four steals and two assists, Miley Wagoner added three rebounds and Hanson recorded two rebounds. Kelby Gray finished with four assists, three rebounds and two steals.
Clarinda at WoodbineThe Clarinda girls basketball team won its second straight game to start the season, using a big third quarter Monday to win 48-40 at Woodbine.
Clarinda led 25-23 at halftime and pulled away with a 15-2 third quarter before seeing the Tigers make a late push for the final margin.
Maddie Cole and Addison Wagoner scored 12 points each to lead the Cardinals while Kylie Meier added 10 points. Meier added five rebounds and five steals. Cole recorded three assists and two steals and Wagoner stole the ball four times.
Carsen Wellhausen finished with six points, 15 rebounds, three blocks, two steals and two assists for the Cardinals. Aylah Johnson and Miley Wagoner recorded four points each with Johnson collecting two rebounds.
Kelby Gray finished with three assists, two steals and two rebounds and Ellie Cole supplied two assists and two rebounds.
Clarinda vs. St. AlbertThe Clarinda girls basketball team scored 15 straight fourth quarter points to take the lead but didn’t quite have enough to take down the defending state champions Friday, Dec. 5, losing 47-40 at home against Class 1A No. 1 St. Albert.
Clarinda trailed 38-24 after a Lexie Pearce basket and free throw just 17 seconds into the fourth quarter but the Cardinals weren’t done yet.
Carsen Wellhausen scored inside and then the Cole sisters hit from deep with Ellie connecting at the 7:08 mark and Maddie with 5:11 to go to bring Clarinda within 38-32. Freshman Aylah Johnson got a big rebound and scored next time down and then Addison Wagoner made a free throw. Wellhausen scored inside and then Wagoner was fouled on a drive and made both free throws with 2:46 to go to give Clarinda a 39-38 lead.
The Saintes, though, had the answer, after Clarinda point guard Kylie Meier fouled out, the Saintes made two free throws on two different trips to retake the lead with 1:15 to go and then scored a layup after a steal. The lead was 42-39 and the Saintes got a couple stops and put the game away at the free throw line.
Clarinda head coach Jacob Privia was disappointed with the loss after how his team fought back but was thrilled with how his team handled adversity against a really good team.
“We put some girls in uncomfortable situations,” Privia said, “and they really responded for us. We were able to make a run, and it was a fun game to be a part of. We’re very proud with how our girls responded.”
While St. Albert has plenty of weapons on offense, their length and physical nature on defense led the way for the win.
“Their length definitely disturbed us and disrupted one of our offenses,” Privia said. “We struggled getting points on the board in the first half, but we switched offenses and switched up our game plan a bit and we were able to hit some shots in the second half.”
Clarinda trailed 19-10 at halftime and 33-24 after three quarters but it was senior Maddie Cole who did all she could to keep Clarinda close on the offensive end, leading the Cardinals with 12 points.
“She’s a big-time shooter,” Privia said on Cole. “I think she’s one of the best, if not the best, shooter in the conference. She’s been struggling a bit this year, but she found her rhythm. It was great to see her have success and it come in a spot when we really needed it.”
Meier and Wagoner added seven points each for Clarinda. Wellhausen finished with six, Johnson with four and Ellie Cole with three. Miley Wagoner had Clarinda’s other point.
On the other side, Avah Underwood led the Saintes with 15 points while Lexie Pearce added 12. St. Albert missed some good looks, but overall Privia was mostly pleased with how his defense played.
“We competed on defense,” Privia said. “We were really proud. We let them score on some baseline out of bounds and some back cuts early, but I was proud of how we played defense.”
The loss dropped the Cardinals to 3-1 on the season and Privia knows his team has plenty more difficult games on the schedule, starting next week with at Atlantic Tuesday and at home against Glenwood Friday.
“We’re just looking to continue to fight every possession,” Privia said. “It was good to see us face a little adversity and see that we can respond in a positive way. We’re definitely going to need that in some games coming up.”
