Cedar girls finish MidState Tourney with third-place trophy

NORFOLK - The Cedar Catholic girls basketball team moved to 12-7 on the season after capturing third-place honors at the MidState Conference tournament last week.

The Lady Trojans have won 11 of their past 13 games and will continue their exploits Thursday at Battle Creek and Friday at home before beginning Subdistrict action on Tuesday.

At the conference tournament, the Trojans started things off with a 46-38 first-round win over Pierce.

Brooklyn Kuehn scored 14 points, Laney Kathol added 11 points and Megan Heimes poured in 10 to spark the win.

“We played very good defense and were able to get three layups late to regain the lead and hold on to win,” Cedar head coach Craig Wortmann said.

The Lady Trojans then faced off with Class C2 powerhouse Guardian Angels Central Catholic in the semifinal and dropped a low-scoring 35-25 decision which was ultimately illustrated by Cedar Catholic being outscored 7-0 in the third quarter.

“It was a hard-fought game,” Coach Wortmann said. “We didn’t score in the third quarter and were still in the game. We lost by 10 but our defense is really coming around. We are causing turnovers and getting stops on these top Cl and C2 schools.

“We are still struggling with some decisions we make in the press break but for the most part we are getting the ball across half court.”

Kuehn scored eight points and Brynn Wortmann added seven points for CCHS.

Ironically, the third quarter would be the Lady Trojans friend in the third-place game as a 16-8 run broke open a 25-25 tie at halftime to spark a 56-46 win.

“We shot the ball very well against O’Neill,” Craig Wortmann said. “Our ball movement was the key to our win. We were able to control most of the game with our execution on offense and defense. We have more size than O’Neill and we tried to use this.”

Brynn Wortmann led four double-figure scorers with 16 points, while Kathol added 12 points, Kuehn contributed 11 points - keyed by three threepointers - and Jordyn Steffen poured in 10 points.

“This week we play three Cl schools that will help us get ready for our subdistricts next week,” Craig Wortmann said. “We will need to be very sharp as we end our regular season and continue the team defense to be successful in these three games.

“Our biggest key will be our ability to move the ball and find open looks. If we can do this, we will be in all three games.”

One player who could benefit from this is Kuehn who has been finding her range and the bottom of the net with her continued growth as an outside shooter her senior season.

“I did not start shooting until this year and I worked on it a lot and my shots keep falling so I keep shooting them,” Kuehn said. “I have been getting a lot of confidence. I pushed myself to shoot more and to shoot the shots that I could make. I have been putting in the work in practice and did during the offseason.

“I have younger brothers who are tall and we would work on shooting around and they were improving because of it and so was I.”

She added that losing at the state tournament last year has also driven her, but she is also proud of her production.

“I’d say I am happy with the season we’ve had so far,” Kuehn said. “I just want to keep pushing myself to be better and improve every time I step onto the court.”

SCORING

Cedar - Brooklyn Kuehn, 14; Laney Kathol, 11; Megan Heimes, 10; Brynn Wortmann, 8; Jordyn Steffen, 3.

REBOUNDS

Cedar - Brooklyn Kuehn, 7; Jordyn Steffen, 2; Laney Kathol, 2; Brynn Wortmann, 2; Grade Dickes, 1; Megan Heimes, 1.

ASSISTS

Cedar - Megan Heimes, 2; Brynn Wortmann, 2; Laney Kathol, 1.

STEALS

Cedar - Laney Kathol, 3; Brooklyn Kuehn, 2; Megan Heimes, 1; Brynn Wortmann, 1.

SCORING

Cedar - Brooklyn Kuehn, 8; Brynn Wortmann, 7; Megan

REBOUNDS

Cedar - Laney Kathol, 8; Brooklyn Kuehn, 6; Brynn Wortmann, cie Dickes, 2; Megan Heimes, 2; Makenzie Arens, 1; Jordyn

ASSISTS

Cedar - Jordyn Steffen, 1; Megan Heimes, 1.

STEALS

Cedar - Brooklyn Kuehn, 4; Laney Kathol, 1.

SCORING

Cedar - Brynn Wortmann, 16; Laney Kathol, 12; Brooklyn Kuehn, 11; Jordyn Steffen, 10; Megan Heimes, 7.

REBOUNDS

Cedar - Brynn Wortmann, 8; Laney Kathol, 7; Brooklyn Kuehn, 6; Megan Heimes, 3; Jordyn Steffen, 2.

ASSISTS

Cedar - Megan Heimes, 2.

STEALS

Cedar - Jordyn Steffen, 3; Laney Kathol, 1