(Clarinda) Three players scored in double figures for Atlantic in a 54-46 win over Clarinda Thursday night at Clarinda.
Jada Jensen and Paytn Harter Paced the Trojans with 16-points each, and Aubry Guyer added 11. Malena Woodward added seven points, and Aspen Niklasen scored four.
Taylor Cole led the Cardinals with 17-points, and Amelia Hesse knocked down 16. Bailey Nordyke and Cloe Strait added four points each; Paige Millikan, 3, and Jerzee Knight finished the night with two points.
The Cardinals jumped out 8-3 early; however, the Trojans countered 8-straight to grab an 11-8 lead and never trailed again. Jensen led the charge with eight first-quarter points, Harter five, and Guyer four. The Trojans built a 17-12 first-quarter lead and carried the momentum into the second quarter outscoring the Cardinals 14-6.
“We picked up our intensity,” said Atlantic Head Coach Dan Vargason. “We knew Clarinda would come out and play hard; we made some adjustments, started to execute, and took care of the ball. We thought they would struggle to guard Jada, and once we got her to the rim, get some points and dumped some off, allowing others to score as well.”
Harter sat out much of the second quarter with three fouls, and Malena Woodward picked up the slack with five points.
“Clarinda’s two-three zone had a hole in the middle, and we knew Woodward could fill that,” said Vargason. “She did a great job hitting those jumpers and got in position to rebound.”
Clarinda battled back in the second half, outscoring the Trojans 14-8 in the third quarter closing the gap to 40-35 in the final stanza behind the hot hand of Amelia Hesse. The 5’8 sophomore buried three shots from behind the three-point line. Paytn Harter sparked the Trojans offense with nine points to keep the Cardinals at bay.
“I thought our girls did a great job of keeping their composure on the road,” said Vargason.” We go back on the road for the fourth straight time on Friday. Adversity is the name of the game, and we have to be able to adapt and overcome. We did tonight, and they need to do it again on Friday night.”
Atlantic is 1-4 on the season, and travel to Creston on Friday night. Clarinda falls to 2-3 and hosts Glenwood on Friday.
