(Harlan, IA) – The Harlan girl’s basketball team is ready to get going today in their regular season opener against Treynor. Harlan is returning their top four scorers and top four rebounders from last season which more than helps them as they enter a new year. Head coach Zach Klaassen is happy that he could get his team back into the swing of things just as if the offseason was never even there.
Last year, Harlan continued to get better over the course of the season. The Cyclones started to shoot the three well while also eliminating turnovers. Harlan is looking to utilize that offensive gain this season while also penetrating the basket.
One player that had a successful season last year was Aubrey Schwieso who averaged 15.7 points per game, four assists, and four rebounds last season. She is joined alongside Erica Rust who averaged 12.6 points per game and 9.7 rebounds while Hannah Sonderman averaged 6.3 points. It won’t take just one of these girls to step up this season, rather it will take the team as a whole.
Looking at the game tonight for the Cyclones, they are taking on the Treynor Cardinals as both teams were ranked in the IGHSAU preseason rankings. Harlan sits at 8th place overall in Class 3A while Treynor is ranked in 8th place in Class 2A. The Cardinals have lost their top-scorer from last year, but bring back Alexa Schwartz and Nora Konz who each averaged just over 10 points per game. They have split the series over the course of the past two seasons as Treynor took the victory last year, so you can expect a competitive game tonight.
The difference between this year and last year is the athlete’s overall physical condition and the offense. Coach Klaassen is looking to play fast both on the offensive and defensive ends this season so that the team can utilize the little mistakes from their opponent along the way.
Harlan hosts Treynor tonight for their regular season opener with the opening tipoff at 7:30 p.m.
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