(Council Bluffs) Council Bluffs Lewis Central staged a second-half rally to secure a 54-50 victory over Atlantic in Hawkeye Ten Conference girls’ basketball on Friday night at Lewis Central.
Brooke Larsen led the Titans with an impressive 27 points, while Brooklyn Rutledge added 11. Macie Vetter contributed 8 points, and Jacie Young and Avery Zimmerman chipped in with 3 points each.
Atlantic’s Paytn Harter paced the Trojans with 18 points. Makenna Schroeder and Zoey Kirchhoff each scored 12, while Lila Wiederstein rounded out the scoring with 8 points.
The Trojans started strong, jumping out to a 19-9 lead in the first quarter and extending it to 32-19 by halftime. Harter led the charge with 14 first-half points, while Kirchhoff energized the offense with two three-pointers, and Schroeder added another. Wiederstein also contributed 6 points in the half.
The Titans responded with a dominant 19-4 run in the third quarter, closing the gap to 36-34 by the end of the period. Lewis Central then built a 49-43 lead in the fourth quarter, but Atlantic countered with a 5-0 run to pull within one point at 49-48. However, the Trojans were forced to foul, and Larsen capitalized by making four free throws and finished 9-11 from the free-throw line for the game. Larsen’s stellar second-half performance, which included 20 points, steered the Titans to a hard-fought victory. Atlantic Head Coach Dan Vargason says he was proud of his team’s effort from start to finish.
Atlantic, now 5-3, hosts Shenandoah on January 3. Lewis Central, now 3-4, plays in the MAC Tournament on Saturday and travels to Glenwood on January 3.
