January 2, 2014 at 11:37 a.m.
Game plan followed in win over top ranked team
Turns out the Barneveld girls basketball team did not have to walk very far. They beat the state's top ranked team, Assumption, 50-37 Saturday to not only take the title of their own Candy Cane Classic but will also no doubt shake up the rankings.
The Eagles held down the number two spot in the state ratings behind Assumption before this weekend.
The rankings have little meaning for Eagles coach Jim Myers but the way the girls played over a two day stretch against strong competition does.
"If we continue to play like this we will be very tough to beat," Myers said.
While the Eagles led most of the game it still took some key plays down the stretch to nail it down and stretch the lead from six to 13.
While the Eagles can hit the three pointer more often than most teams it was the slash and drive along with the free throw line that got them where they wanted to be.
Senior guard Hailey Kleppe scored on a back door cut on the baseline late in the fourth quarter and Hannah Whitish saw a lane, drove it and scored. Along with that came 6-0 center Maggie Oimoen's six of her nine points on a basket and four free throws, all in the last three minutes.
Oimoen ruled the boards after the Royals lost 6-0 sophomore Gina Grundhoffer to fouls. Grundhoffer had put in 11 points and was the leading rebounder for Assumption prior to her departure. The Eagles had a 10 point lead when she left.
The Eagles put in eight of 14 free throws in the final quarter. Oimoen was four for six, Rachel Slaney two for two with Danielle Straubhaar and Mia Whitish adding one each.
Slaney battled some foul trouble but stuck around long enough to pour in 22 points and grab 11 rebounds. She sat the last part of the third and early part of the fourth but made up for it with the rest of her time on the floor.
Myers also was impressed with how Hannah Whitish ran the team from the point guard position.
"That was important," Myers said. "We had a game plan and knew we could be successful if we stuck to it. We needed to be patient and Hannah made sure we were, as well as making good decisions. We stuck to the game plan from start to finish."
Myers said the win was big for the program.
"The good thing to see was we were able to play two good games against tough teams on back to back days," Myers said.
The Eagles resume action next Friday at Potosi.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
A 5 11 8 13 37
B 9 14 7 20 50
BOX SCORE
ASSUMPTION 37: (fg-ft-tp) Wanta 3-0-6, Siegler 3-2-9, M. Zurfluh 1-0-2, Grundhoffer 4-2-11, Birkhauser 1-4-6, Newman 0-1-1, S. Zurfluh 1-0-2 Totals 13-9/16-37 Fouls-21 Fouled out-Grundhoffer
BARNEVELD 50: Straubhaar 0-4-4, Kleppe 1-0-2, H. Whitish 2-2-6, M. Whitish 1-3-6, Evans 1-0-2, Slaney 8-6-22, Oimoen 2-4-8 Totals 15-19/28-50 Fouls-15
3 point goals:
A-Grundhoffer 1, Siegler 1
B-M. Whitish 1
