Confident Cougars stifle Spartans

GRUNDY CENTER – Laurie Gann wants the AGWSR girls’ basketball team to sneak up on opponents this postseason.

Gann, the AGWSR head coach, saw last Thursday’s game at Grundy Center as a chance for the Cougars, win or lose, to play in a hostile environment in what’s been a back-and-forth rivalry.

As it turned out, AGWSR made enough plays defensively and got the shots to fall for a 46-30 win over Grundy Center and the first season sweep of the Spartans since the 2014-15 season.

AGWSR won the first meeting this season in Ackley, 43-38, on Jan. 7.

Alyssa Hames scored 19 points to lead the Cougars and Rachel Sicard added 10 points with 10 rebounds, three blocks and two steals.

“We’re really starting to work together,” Hames said. “All of us are getting points across the board and our man defense has really stepped up.”

AGWSR led 20-9 at halftime as the Cougars leveraged a tough-shooting night for the Spartans; Grundy Center made more free throws (10) than field goals (9) on Thursday. Bailey Reding had eight points to lead the Spartans, Lainy Thoren grabbed eight rebounds.

“Alyssa did a great job on Thoren and didn’t allow her to do what she wanted to do offensively,” Gann said. “We had Whitanie (Nederhoff) and Rachel and different people with Reding and MaKenna (Kuper) out top hassling one of the guards so defense obviously did it and we did a great job of getting some second shots.”

Grundy Center scored the first five points of the third quarter, but AGWSR punched back with a 10-1 run that included six points in a row from Kuper. The Spartans didn’t get within nine points of the Cougars for the remainder of the game.

“We’ve just gotta keep playing hard no matter what the rankings or the matchups say,” Hames said. “Every night’s a new night and you’ve got to go out there and play hard.”

The postseason road for the Cougars begins Thursday, Feb. 13 in Ackley against winless North Iowa. AGWSR is in Class 1A Region 2, with fourth-ranked Bishop Garrigan as the top seed and a potential regional semifinal opponent for the Cougars.

“We’ve had a lot of confidence this year,” Sicard said. “I think Coach Gann’s boosted us up a little bit too, because she knows we can do it and has been with us for a while. … We all work together, there’s not much drama and we all fit well together, that carries onto the court also.”

AGWSR      11              9                10              16              —               46

GC             5                4                9                12              —               30

AGWSR– Alyssa Hames 6-13 6-6 19; Brynn Smith 0-0 0-0 0; Natalie Lippert 0-1 0-0 0; Makenna Kuper 4-7 0-4 8; Morgan Bakker 0-1 0-0 0; Grace Finger 2-4 1-3 5; Whitanie Nederhoff 2-2 0-2 4; Rachel Sicard 5-7 0-0 10; Totals 19-35 7-15 46. 

Grundy Center– Kyah Luhring 0-3 0-0 0; Jacque Kuester 0-0 0-0 0; Paiton Wallis 0-2 1-2 1; Lainy Thoren 2-7 3-4 7; Dahlia Gardiner 1-2 2-4 4; Shelby Rivera 0-5 0-0 0; Frannie Brown 2-6 3-6 7; Bella Dole 1-5 0-0 3; Emma Beck 0-1 0-0 0; Leslie Homeister 0-3 0-0 0; Bailey Reding 3-11 1-1 8; Totals 9-45 10-17 30. 

Three-point goals– AGWSR 1 (Hames); GC 2 (Dole, Reding). Rebounds– AGWSR 15 (Sicard 10); GC 16 (Thoren 8). Assists– AGWSR 0, GC 5 (two with 2). Steals– AGWSR 3 (Sicard 2); GC 12 (Rivera 4). Blocks– AGWSR 3 (Sicard 3); GC 0. Total fouls– AGWSR 11, GC 15. Fouled out– None.