(Harlan) #11 Harlan’s 91-54 girls basketball win over #9 Creston was significant on a lot of levels. The Cyclones not only won by a large margin, but it was big in terms of the conference standings and their postseason resumé. Harlan played well in several aspects, but 3-point shooting stood out the most.
The home squad buried 16 shots from long range including nine from Jocelyn Cheek who scored 28 points. Caitlyn Leinen had four makes outside the arc to finish with 14 points. Post players Claire Schmitz and Macie Leinen scored 15 and 14 respectively while Ashley Hall had 9. Creston’s high scorer was Kelsey Fields with 20.
Harlan jumped out to a 13-2 lead thanks to stifling full court pressure defense. Cheek, Hall, Brecken Van Baale, and Caitlyn Leinen combined for six 3’s in the first half as Harlan led 31-10 through one quarter and 46-23 at half. Cheek made seven of her triples in the 2nd half with Caitlyn Leinen adding two and Macie Leinen one. The home squad scored 23 points in the third quarter and 22 in the 4th.
Cheek spoke with reporters after the game, “My team does a good job of driving and kicking. That’s what the plays are set up for us guards to do. Once one falls you get your confidence up and it’s easier to make the next two or three.” Cheek was one 3-pointer away from matching a single game school record.
The team was eager to respond after a 61-57 loss to a ranked Denison-Schleswig team on Thurdsay, “We had a rough game, we lost by four and it was close to Denison so we just needed a big comeback and I think we did that.”
