Rams off to best start since 2011-12

Glenwood girls basketball team scored a season-high in points and won its sixth game in as many tries in a 90-13 victory over Clarinda in Hawkeye 10 Conference basketball Friday.

The Rams (6-0 overall, 3-0 in the conference), who moved up to No. 4 in the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Association Class 4A rankings released Thursday, are off to their best start to open the season since the 2011-2012 team won its first 11. That team reached the state tournament.

Friday against Clarinda, the Rams jumped out to a 23-2 lead and extended that margin to 54-5 by halftime. For the game, Glenwood shot 50 percent from the field (29-of-58) while connecting on a season-high 15 three-pointers.

“A lot of kids got opportunities in this one and we felt like we could get about any shot we wanted,” said Glenwood coach Brian Rasmussen. “We stroked the ball pretty well, not just from the outside but all over the floor. This was a good confidence builder. We didn’t feel like we’ve been shooting it well from the outside so to his 15 (three’s) was good to see.”

Madison Camden led a balanced scoring effort with 22 points. The sophomore was an efficient 7-of-9 from the field and also grabbed six rebounds. Elle Scarborough added 14 points, Hayllee Sell 11 and Jenna Hopp, Emma Hughes, Abby Hughes and Brynlee Arnold added nine points each.

The 77-point margin of victory is a girls school-record in the five-player era.

Glenwood 67,
Denison 57

Jenna Hopp and Madison Camden combined for 28 points as Glenwood handed defending Hawkeye 10 Conference girls basketball champion Denison a 67-57 loss last Tuesday.

The Rams got off to a 19-6 lead to open the game and looked poised to pull away but the Monarchs had other ideas. Denison out-scored Glenwood 21-15 in the second quarter and hung around into the fourth quarter when they finally took the lead.

“In what’s sort of been our M.O. this season we got off to a hot start the first couple of minutes and they continued to battle back,” said Glenwood coach Brian Rasmussen. “We thought we had a chance to put it away early and they battled.”

But Glenwood didn’t cave under the Monarchs’ comeback.

Madison Camden, who led with a team-high 15 points, and Jenna Hopp, who returned from an early injury to score 13 second half points, hit big shots over the final five minutes to held secure the win.

“We weren’t playing our best and we were a little pressed with everything and when we lost the lead instead of hanging our heads and saying ‘Oh no here we go’ a couple kids stepped up and hit big shots with confidence,” Rasmussen said. “We hit a couple three’s in the last two minutes and got some big turnovers that took us from down a possession to up 10 points.”

Elle Scarborough chipped in 11 points and rebounds.

The Rams shot less than 40 percent from the field (24-of-62) but hit eight three pointers while recording assists on 16 of their 24 made field goals.

Denison was led by Paige Anderson’s 19 points and six rebounds.