The Wildcats fall area foes

LAUREL - Offensive struggles have played a part in the current four-game losing streak for the Hartington-Newcastle girls basketball team.

Last week, the Lady Wildcats (5-10) dropped a 34-26 decision against Laurel-Concord-Coleridge and a 60-36 home defeat against Crofton.

Kayden Jueden led the way against LCC with a 15-point and 10-rebound performance.

“We have been talking a lot about attitude and effort on the basketball floor and these are the only things we can control,” HNHS head coach Josh Morten said. “I want the girls to focus on that. We did a really good job on this in the two games this week. The girls came out on Tuesday night and gave great effort against LCC. We played with confidence which was great. We just weren’t able to finish the job at the end of the night.

“We allowed Laurel to get too many offensive rebounds and we turned the ball over a few times at critical moments when we needed to take care of the ball. Seems like we play really solid ball for most of a game but then have lapses for a few minutes here and there and that makes all the difference in the world on winning these games. We need to really stay fo-cused all 32 minutes of the game. If we do that and give our most effort, we will be winning some games.”

In the defeat against Crofton, Jueden scored 11 points while Alivia Morten added seven points.

“I told the girls to take on the challenge of Crofton,” coach Morten said. “It’s not every day you get to play teams like Crofton. Our girls played hard the whole game to of which I was very proud. Crofton isn’t rated No. 2 in the state for no reason. They are a very well coached group of girls and play intensely. They shoot the ball very well too.

“Our girls didn’t go down without a fight though.”

Crofton led 26-4 after the first quarter, but the game was essentially a draw for the final 24 minutes.

“We shot the ball much better and we ran our offense much better in this game,” Josh Morten said. “We also talked about patience and being deliberate on offense. The girls did that, and it showed. We just gave up too many turnovers in the first quarter.”

The Lady Wildcats return home to play Winnebago Friday before conference tournament action starts Saturday.

“We have an opportunity to right the ship a little this week and get a couple of wins,” Morten said. “We need a V’ right now to build some confidence. We are playing decent enough ball to win games, but just aren’t getting it done.”

Keanna Korth of the Lady Wildcats explained why the squad has struggled to score, just over 31 points per game over the past four.

“We are starting to pick things up and learning how to play as a team, but we just need baskets to fall,” Korth said. “If we play aggressive like we did against Crofton, we should have a lot more progress these next few weeks.

“Sometimes we have moments where we look like a good basketball team and everything is working for us and then there are times it doesn’t look that way. Our issue is just finishing out shots. Our connection on the court, cutting to open spaces on the floor and relocating when someone drives to hoop are things we need to keep working on.”

SCORING HNS - Kayden Jueden, 15; Alivia Morten, 6; Makenna Clarkson, 2; Mani Lange, 1; Keanna Korth, 1; Delaney Sudbeck, 1. LCC - Kinsey Hall, 19; Jordyn Urwiler, 6; Mallory Eriksen, 4; Haley Christensen, 4; Berniece McCorkindale, 1.

REBOUNDS HNS - Kayden Jueden, 10; Alivia Morten, 4; Mani Lange, 3; Keanna Korth, 3; Delaney Sudbeck, 3; Makenna Clarkson, 2; Zoey Gratzfeld, 1. LCC - Kinsey Hall, 11; Haley Christensen, 6; Mallory Eriksen, 4; Berniece McCorkindale, 3; Jordyn Urwiler, 2; Molly Schutte, 2; Reggan Kuhlman, 2.

ASSISTS HNS - Makenna Clarkson, 2; Mani Lange, 2; Kayden Jueden, 1; Keanna Korth, 1; Delaney Sudbeck, 1. LCC - Reggan Kuhlman, 1.

STEALS

HNS - Keanna Korth, 5; Kayden Jueden, 2; Alivia Morten, 1; Mani Lange, 1. LCC Kinsey Hall, 5; Haley Christensen, 3; Jordyn Urwiler, 1; Mallory Eriksen, 1; Erica Wolfgram, 1; Molly Schutte, 1.

SCORING HNS - Kayden Jueden, 11; Alivia Morten, 7; Keanna Korth, 5; Delaney Sudbeck, 4; Makenna Clarkson, 3; Lauren Howell, 2; Olivia Grutsch, 2; Zoey Gratzfeld, 2.

REBOUNDS HNS - Kayden Jueden, 4; Laurel Howell, 3; Keanna Korth, 3; Mani Lange, 2; Alivia Morten, 2; Olivia Grutsch, 2; Zoey Gratzfeld, 2; Delaney Sudbeck, 1; Karli Bruening, 1; Makenna Clarkson, 1.

ASSISTS HNS - Kayden Jueden, 6; Mani Lange, 3; Keanna Korth, 1; Makenna Clarkson, 1; Delaney Sudbeck, 1.

STEALS HNS - Keanna Korth, 4; Delaney Sudbeck, 4; Mani Lange, 2; Kayden Jueden, 1; Makenna Clarkson, 1.

Stay in the know!

To get news alerts on your cell phone, get the Cedar County News app in the ITunes store or  in the Google Play Store.