WEBSTER CITY - Whether it was a month's worth of growth or the fact that it was the final time on the Jefferson Gymnasium court, the Webster City girls' basketball team certainly turned the tables on Clarion-Goldfield Friday night.
After being swarmed by a barrage of buckets by Cowgirls' leader MacKenzie Haupt in a 60-41 loss in Clarion on Jan. 6, the Lynx
seized the advantage very early on and never gave it up in a 55-45 North Central Conference victory.
Article Photos
DFJ photo by Tracy Runneberg
Emily Elm (center), Maddy Miller (back) and Cambria Hoffmann (right) start the celebration for Webster City following Friday’s 55-45 win over Clarion-Goldfield.
"I'm extremely proud of the girls and this should give us some momentum going into the final week of the regular season," WCHS head coach Jeff Lyons said afterwards. "Our defensive effort was excellent and it really was our best all-around game of the season."
The Lynx (5-14, 5-11 NCC) opened up a 28-18 halftime lead, and even when Clarion-Goldfield (10-11, 8-10 NCC) whittled their advantage down to seven, and then to six, and then to five in the fourth quarter, Lyons said his players never lost their focus or composure.
It didn't hurt that WCHS went 17 of 23 at the free throw line and hit clutch shots late either.
Fact Box
Webster City 55, Clarion-Goldfield 45
Clarion-Goldfield (10-11, 8-10 NCC) - Stephanie Steiner 4 0-0 10, Jacey Anderson 2 1-2 5, Mackenzie Haupt 4 1-2 11, Kelsey Anderson 0 4-4 4, Jossie Sann 3 1-4 8, Adelai Swanson 1 1-2 3, Katie Hinkle 1 2-4 4. Totals: 15 10-18 45.
Webster City (5-14, 5-11 NCC) - Emily Elm 3 0-0 6, Cambria Hoffmann 1 7-8 10, Taylor Broshar 4 2-3 13, Katie Holdgrafer 3 2-2 8, Maddy Miller 4 3-6 11, Rachel Kauffman 2 0-0 4, Kelsey Lindmark 0 3-4 3, Erin Anderson 0 0-0 0, Lacey Lindmark 0 0-0 0, Lynne Chalfant 0 0-0 0. Totals: 17 17-23 55.
Clarion-Goldfield11 7 17 10-45
Webster City13 15 13 14-55
3-point field goals - C-G 5 (Steiner 2, Haupt 2, Sann); WC 4 (Broshar 3, Hoffmann). Rebounds - WC 32 (Hoffmann 12, Kauffman 7). Steals - WC 5 (Miller 3). Assists - WC 12 (Broshar 4, Elm 3). Team fouls - C-G 18, WC 18. Fouled out - Holdgrafer.
"We made some big free throws and that's something we've been working on a lot in practice," Lyons said. "To the girls' credit, they stepped up and hit them when we needed them."
Sophomore Taylor Broshar rained in three 3-pointers and set the tone for the Lynx with 13 points to go along with four assists. Junior Cambria Hoffmann netted 10 and crashed the boards for a season-high 12 rebounds.
Seniors Maddy Miller and Katie Holdgrafer exited their home court for the final time with 11 and eight points, respectively. Junior Emily Elm added six points and three assists, and classmate Rachel Kauffman finished with four points and seven boards.
Kelsey Lindmark scored all three of her points at the foul line in the final minutes to help seal the win.
Haupt led the Cowgirls with 11 points, but it was a country mile away from the 30 she put up in the first meeting.
"We were beat up by (Haupt) pretty badly the first time, but the girls listened well and followed the game plan," Lyons said. "We had girls help out on her when she ran the baseline and we tried to double her whenever we could."
WCHS will finish out its regular season this week with a pair of road games, first at Clear Lake on Tuesday followed by a trip to Algona to take on the Bulldogs on Friday.