Roland-Story Girls Basketball Regional Semifinal Game

By Claire T.

On February 14, the Roland-Story Girls’ Basketball team welcomed the Clear Lake Lions into the Norsement Gym for a Class 3A Region 4 Semifinal. The winner would face the winner of the Forest City-Crestwood game the following Saturday for a spot at the State Tournament. Previously, the Norse had beaten the Lions 58-31 on January 11, meeting them at their home in Clear Lake. 

Nerves were high as the losing team of this game would close out their season. The game tipped off at 7:00 p.m. with Norse starters Elizabeth Ihle, Mati Motta, Claire Truesdell, Kamryn Lande, and Kate Berggren. Clear Lake started Xada Johnson, Madi Ott, Taylor Schwenn, Madison Loge, and Addie Doughan. The Norse Girls got off to a great run of 14-2 in the first quarter. They continued to extend their lead to 22-14 going into halftime. However, the game was only halfway done. And while the Norse were ahead, no game is over until the buzzer sounds. 

With one half to go, the game was on the line. The question was: would the Clear Lake Lions pull themselves back into the game or would the Norse extend their lead and pull away? That answer was yet to be determined. 

The Norse Girls came out with a bang--swishing three-pointers left and right, while throwing passes to finish fast break layups. Thanks to this, the Norse Girls pulled ahead and finished the third quarter with a lead of 40-16. This meant that they had kept the Clear Lake Girls to only 2 points in 8 minutes! With only the fourth quarter left to go, the Norse Girls were confident, but not done yet! 

Finally, the buzzer sounded and the Norse Girls had finished the game. They worked hard to come out with a victory of 53-21. The Norse Girls had a stellar defensive night, forcing the Lions to 27 turnovers, 2 offensive rebounds, and only 2 made three-pointers. On the offensive side, the Norse hit 10 three-pointers and 81% from the free-throw line. 

This win secured the Norse Girls a spot in a 3A Regional Final game that they would later host at home vs. Forest City on February 17. Unfortunately, the Norse Girls lost this game 67-55, ending their phenomenal season 22-2. The girls trailed by 23 points early on and battled back to cut the lead to 5, but just could not knock down the shot opportunities they were given. 

Location: 1009 Story St, Story City, IA 50248, USA

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