Lanser’s hot hand helps Hawk girls win three

Pitted against three opponents last week, the No. 11-ranked Lynnville-Sully girls were successful in protecting their undefeated record.

BGM

Last Tuesday’s big 50-25 win at BGM was more than just a conference victory; it was L-S Coach Jerry Hulsing’s 500th career win (see details on the front page of this newspaper).

Both teams were a bit sluggish getting going, with the scoreboard reading 8-4 at the end of the first quarter. The Hawks improved as the game wore on and scored double the points of BGM. Hulsing was pleased with his team’s defensive pressure, saying, “I thought our rotation was pretty good.”

“Our offense was okay,” he added. “First half, we got some good looks, but struggled to finish; the second half we did a better job of finishing.”

Senior Brenna Lanser and sophomore Carson Fisk reached the double digits by scoring 16 and 14 points respectively. Junior Camryn Russell added nine.

Junior Mariah Vos and senior Jelissa Rozendaal finished with eight rebounds apiece. Lanser stole the ball six times and blocked three shots.

North Mahaska

By John Trettin

L-S Newspaper I Class

L-S secured another SICL win with a solid 56-38 victory at North Mahaska on Friday, Jan. 20. Lanser’s hot shooting led to a career-high 32 points, which is the third highest-scoring game by a Hawk since the introduction of five-player ball. Coach Hulsing was very pleased with the great effort put forth by his team.

“I really believe that tonight's game was the best we have looked on both ends of the floor,” he said. “Our defense kept NM out of their offensive rhythm and really didn't give them any clean looks. Our offense was like a machine with the girls executing well, allowing us to get to the rim and finish.”

Lanser led the way for the Hawks with her 32 points on 10-21 shooting from the field and 11-13 shooting from the free throw line. Fisk had 12 points on 10 shots. Junior Jataya Meyer tacked on seven points with only two shots from the field.

“We executed our offense the best we have this year. We snapped the ball around and got a lot of good looks without turning the ball over very much,” said Lanser.

Senior Jelissa Rozendaal led the team in rebounds with nine, four of which came on the offensive boards. Fisk pulled down six rebounds, and Lanser got five.

“Our defensive effort was an important part in our success. We were able to play hard on defense and give them only one shot by rebounding tough,” said Rozendaal.

Rozendaal also led the team in assists with four. Vos dished out three assists. Russell and Fisk each had a pair of assists.

Albia

Junior Mariah Vos lifts off a shot over the outstretched arms of her Albia opponent. Vos totaled six points in the Saturday game versus the 3A team.

The closest game of the week came on Saturday against Class 3A Albia. The teams were fairly evenly matched in the first half. Then the Hawks used a 21-9 advantage in the third quarter to gain a significant lead and never looked back, winning 65-51.

Hulsing thought his players did a better job rebounding in the second half, and the girls made offensive improvements, too.

“I thought we did a better job in the second half of handling the physicality of the game,” he explained. “We protected the ball better. Our offensive ball movement was better in the second half, allowing us to attack the rim, and we were able to finish and make our free throws down the stretch.”

Lanser had another big scoring night, ending with 27 points, including three three-pointers and 12 free throws off 14 attempts. Russell and Fisk finished with eight points apiece, followed by Rozendaal’s seven and Vos’s six.

Lanser also had nine of the Hawks’ 30 rebounds. Other top rebounders were Rozendaal and Vos with five each.

The Hawks were set to host HLV on Tuesday, Jan. 24, and will face solid SICL foe Montezuma on Friday on the road.

Looking further ahead, tournament time is approaching. The girls learned this week they have a bye in the first round of the 1A Region 5 tournament. Their first game will be Tuesday, Feb. 14, at 7 p.m. against either Tri-County or English Valleys in Sully.

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