Wolves hampered by slow start in loss to Tigers

The Harris-Lake Park girls basketball team made a valiant comeback in the fourth quarter after struggling to buy a basket for most of the first half, but a couple of inopportune turnovers put a halt to any hopes of a victory in a 49-42 loss to Woden-Crystal Lake-Titonka Monday, Feb. 1 in Cornbelt Conference play.

"I applaud the girls efforts in the second half," said Harris-Lake Park co-head girls basketball coach Neal Brandt. "They came back and played well. Unfortunately, playing just a half doesn't win a game for you."

The Wolves quickly fell behind by 13 points in the first half after combining to score 12 total points. H-LP erupted for 30 points after the halftime break, including 15 apiece in each quarter. However, after pulling back to within two points on three occasions with less than five minutes to go, a couple of unforced turnovers allowed the Tigers to come away with the win.

"We just weren't in the game early and have to come out ready to play," said Brandt. "We didn't want to penetrate against the 1-2-2 zone and didn't move the ball well. Those are all things we can work on before the tournament."

W-CL-T gained the early edge by outscoring H-LP 11-7 in the first quarter.

The Wolves managed just five more points in the second stanza to fall behind 25-12 at the halftime break.

H-LP cut the deficit in half at one point in the third quarter and rallied back to within 35-27 to close out the period.

Shelby Peters scored on a putback on the Wolves first possession of the fourth quarter, but back-to-back turnovers allowed W-CL-T to jump back ahead by 10.

The Wolves used a three-quarter court trapping press that was spearheaded by Anna Brandt and Deni Peters to get back into the contest. Brandt scored nine points in a row and 11 total during the final six minutes.

Brandt jump-started H-LP with a lay-in off a steal with 5:47 left on the clock. A deep jumper and three-pointer from the right wing cut the gap down to 39-37 with 4:29 remaining. Less than 30 seconds later, Brandt barely missed on another triple.

After falling behind 41-37, Brandt nailed two free throws to cut the deficit down to a single possession again. With 2:22 to play, Christine Larson couldn't get a putback to fall. An important hoop by Amanda Heesch put the Tigers in front by four.

With 1:08 on the clock, Brandt turned a steal into another easy basket. However, a costly turnover gave the Tigers the ball back with 50 seconds remaining. Hannah Kofron converted an old-fashioned three-point play for W-CL-T with 30 seconds left to build the lead to 46-42. The Tigers nailed three more free throws down the stretch to put away the game.

"Our press was effective, especially in the second half," said Brandt. "We just need to put this one behind us and get ready for Clay Central-Everly tomorrow night. It's a big game for us."

Harris-Lake Park slides to 10-6 overall and 3-4 in the conference while Woden-Crystal Lake-Titonka is now 9-8 on the year and 6-1 in the league.