Webster city’s Alley Odland dribbles up the court for the Lynx. (DFJ photo by Patrick Coons)

WEBSTER CITY — The Webster City girls ran into a pair of difficult opponents this past week, falling to Pocahontas Area and Clear Lake.

The Lynx dropped a 74-21 decision to the Indians in non-conference action last Thursday night, and were then topped by the Lions in the North Central Conference opener, 63-37, on Friday.

In the loss to Pocahontas Area, Chloe Anderson scored five points with three rebounds, while Fallon Casey added four. Reese Casey had four rebounds.

Addyson Beaulieu had three boards.

“Give credit to Pocahontas Area,” WCHS head coach Mark Fisher said. “They are a veteran team that returned all of their starters from a very good team last year. They’re quick and athletic, but more importantly, very good at what they want to do and have been doing it for a long time.

“We got punched in the mouth early with their pressure and did not play as aggressively and with as much confidence as we needed to do.”

Fisher, though, saw marked improvement in his team against the Lions, a perennial state tournament contender.

After falling behind 15-6 following the first and 33-11 at the break, the Lynx played within four points of Clear Lake over the final 16 minutes.

Anderson had nine points with seven rebounds, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers, while Alley Odland and Livia Kasch each scored six.

“Really pleased with the way our girls bounced back against a very good Clear Lake team,” Fisher said. “I know the score still isn’t what you want, and we’re still looking for that first win, but I really like the progress our girls have made through a tough early stretch of the season.

“I thought we played some of our best basketball of the season for some stretches (vs. Clear Lake). As we keep telling the girls, it’s a process and we’re still at a stage where there’s a lot of big picture things to work on and get corrected before we can start fine tuning. But I’ve been impressed with their work ethic and the improvements they have made so far.”

Webster City hosts South Central Calhoun on Tuesday night.