Gael girls struggle against Lions
The St. Edmond girls struggled to find open shots against a Des Moines Christian here Saturday night, falling 44-24.
A night after getting behind early to North Central Conference foe Hampton-Dumont, the Gaels hung around with the Lions inside the SEHS gym, but 33 missed field goals and 24 turnovers kept them from making a late rally.
“Our effort was there and I give the girls a lot of credit for that,” SEHS head coach Steve Neuberger said. “We played hard, as we always do, we were just out-matched in terms of size. We still hung in there on the boards and made things difficult for (the Lions) in the first half, but they took advantage in the second.”
Des Moines Christian (5-2) has allowed just 55 points over its last four games, all wins for the Lions. Emma Veenstra and Kaili Lawson each scored 13 to lead the way.
First half struggles continued for the Gaels (1-3), as they were down 20-9 at the half, shooting just 8-for-32 from the field. Cambrie McBride scored five points off the bench, with Jacque Oberg, Hannah Huss and Livi Huss each adding four.
Livi Huss had six rebounds, with Oberg and Macey Mason grabbing five. St. Edmond did hold a 38-33 advantage on the glass despite being the smaller team.
“We can definitely take some positives away,” Neuberger said. “We did a good job of rebounding, especially our guards, and we held them to 20 points in the first half.
“We’ve just got to do a better job of taking care of the ball. We focus on that every single day in practice, but credit to Des Moines Christian, because they made it tough on us.”
The Gaels finished the game 10-for-43 from the field, including a 2-for-11 effort from the 3-point line. Des Moines Christian shot 17-for-52, but also struggled from deep, making 2 of 15.
“We have to have kids that are confident in their shot,” Neuberger said. “We are getting there, as I see improvement and we are making strides in the right direction. We just aren’t where we want to be yet.”
St. Edmond returns to action on Tuesday when they travel to Humboldt.
DES MOINES CHRISTIAN 44, ST. EDMOND 24
St. Edmond — Macey Mason 1-5 0-0 3, Jacque Oberg 2-5 0-0 4, Hannah Huss 1-6 2-2 4, Erin Flattery 0-7 1-2 1, Livi Huss 2-6 0-0 4, Cambrie McBride 2-4 0-0 5, Jocy Timmerman 1-5 1-3 3, Brea McNeil 0-2 0-0 0, Abby Landwehr 0-0 0-0 0, Devyn Scott 0-0 0-0 0, Sidney Messerly 0-2 0-0 0, Rylee Kinney 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 10-43 4-7 24.
Des Moines Christian — Moriah Prewitt 2-10 2-3 7, Dakoda Evans 2-2 2-6 6, Emma Veenstra 5-11 2-4 13, Olivia Penland 0-9 0-0 0, Kaili Lawson 6-9 1-3 13, Ava Van Soelen 2-6 1-1 5, Ashlyn Ingram 0-1 0-0 0, Aspen Brockhouse 0-2 0-0 0, Angela Kinzie 0-0 0-0 0, Bella Anderson 0-0 0-0 0, Ellie Schlapkohl 0-0 0-0 0, Megan Miller 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 17-52 8-17 44.
Quarter scores: Des Moines Christian led 13-5, 20-9, 35-18. Three-point goals: St. Edmond 2-11 (Mason 1-3, H. Huss 0-3, McBride 1-3, Timmerman 0-2); Des Moines Christian 2-15 (Prewitt 1-3, Veenstra 1-4, Penland 0-5, Lawson 0-1, Brockhouse 0-1, Miller 0-1). Total rebounds: St. Edmond 38, Des Moines Christian 33. Steals: St. Edmond 5, Des Moines Christian 8. Blocked shots: Des Moines Christian 3. Turnovers: St. Edmond 24, Des Moines Christian 14. Team fouls: St. Edmond 14, Des Moines Christian 14.