Laughlin’s 39 leads East Mills in win over Clarinda Academy

    MALVERN  - Devin Laughlin finished an assist short of her first career triple-double and scored a career-high 39 points for the East Mills girls basketball team in a 90-26 victory over Clarinda Academy on Friday.

    Laughlin, who scored 16 points in the first quarter alone, hit on 16-of-20 shots from the field and 9-of-14 from the line while also grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing out nine assists on the night.
    “She and everybody really shot the ball really well,” said East Mills coach Jeff Laughlin. “I tell them the basket is the same no matter who we’re playing. We can shoot better than we have. Tonight we shot it well.”
    The Wolverines actually didn’t have the start Laughlin had hoped. East Mills led just 4-2 three minutes into the game before going on a 31-2 run spanning the first and second quarters to blow the game open against the winless Eagles.
    “We had a rough start,” Laughlin said. “I don’t know why but we just came out flat but we got everybody involved for the most part. On (holiday) break we worked on pushing the ball and trying to get out and run a little and play more up-tempo.”
    East Mills led 56-7 at the half.
    The Wolverines shot a season-best 52.1 percent (36-of-69) and had a season-high 29 assists on their 36 made field goals.
    Kendra Croghan also set a career-best, scoring 20 points for East Mills.
    Trea Pledge led Clarinda Academy with 12 points.
Griswold 48,
East Mills 18
    A season-high 18 points for Devin Laughlin wasn't enough for the East Mills girls in a 48-39 non-conference basketball loss Thursday.
    “We did a really good job handling the press. They're an athletic team.  We were able to get in our press break and have some really good possessions,” Laughlin said.
    The Tigers, however, pulled away in the fourth quarter.
    “For the first game after break, I thought we played really well. Our first quarter defense was shaky but we only gave up 20 points in the second half so that was good.”
    The Wolverines (2-7 overall, 2-3 in the Corner Conference) put a good defensive effort, holding the Tigers to 26.7 percent, but couldn't come up with enough offense of their own. East Mills shot 40.6 percent (13-of-32) from the field and 9-of-17 at the line. They were also out-rebounded 34-28.
    Katie Sowers chipped in with 10 for the Wolverines.
    Jordyn Sindt led Griswold with 15 points.