Glenwood picks up 53-34 road win at Creston

Glenwood trailed at the half for only the second time this season but came out after halftime to out-score Creston 35-15 in a 53-34 victory in Hawkeye 10 Conference girls basketball Friday in Creston.

The Class 4A, No. 1 ranked Rams (6-1 overall, 4-0) got off to a rough start against the upstart Panthers (4-5 overall, 1-1 in the conference). They trailed 19-18 at the half.

But a 20-9 third quarter run tipped the momentum to the Rams as they rattled off their fourth straights conference win.

Madison Camden led three Rams in double-figures with 18 points. Abby Hughes added 11 and Jenna Hopp 10. Brynlee Arnold chipped in eight points and nine rebounds.

Glenwood 66,
Harlan 45

Glenwood’s a rough first half gave way to a tough defensive effort in the second half as the Rams overcame a slow start offensively to down Harlan 66-45 in Hawkeye 10 Conference girls basketball last Tuesday.

Class 4A, No. 1 ranked Glenwood was helped by the return of all-state guard Madison Camden, who missed the first five games of the sason recovering from off-season knee surgery. The senior finished with a team-high 18 points.

“We had a lot of smiles tonight,” Rasmussen said. “It was nice to have Madison Camden back tonight. Obviously, she’s a big piece of this team and it was nice to see her out the floor.

Overall, I thought we had a real good team effort and team win tonight. Harlan came to fight and they gave us everything we could handle, especially in that first half. I think our girls did a good job not losing patience and sticking with the plan.”

In the opening half, the Rams turned the ball over 10 times and trailed by as many as seven points early to the Cyclones (4-2 overall, 2-1 in the conference) before rallying just before halftime to take a 30-25 lead into intermission.

The Rams wasted little time putting halftime adjustments to use as the third quarter opened. Three pointers by Abby Hughes and Madison Camden, making her season debut while recovering from off-season knee surgery, as part of a 12-4 run put Glenwood out in front 42-29. That lead would swell to 53-36 by the end of the quarter.

“We switched up some things defensively,” Rasmussen said of his team’s third quarter adjustments. “We gave them some different looks between zone and man and we tried not to let them get comfortable. I thought the girls did a good job transitioning back and forth with the defensive sets we were trying to run.”

A Kennedy Jones layup with just under four minutes to go in the game gave Glenwood its biggest lead of the game to that point at 61-21.

The Rams grabbed 12 steals defensively and recorded assists on 19 of their 24 field goals. They also made a season-high 11 three pointers on 28 attempts.

Camden led four Rams in double figures. The senior hit 7-of-11 shots, including 4-of-9 from behind the arc and

“Everybody knows she can shoot the ball,” Rasmussen said. “She shoots the ball efficiently and really well when she’s open. But she does a lot of things off the ball and creates things and really makes our offense as a whole and everybody out there better on the offensive side.”

Jenna Hopp added 14 points, Brynlee Arnold 12 and Hughes 10.

Claire Schmitz paced Harlan with 16 points.

With just one more game remaining before Glenwood heads into the holiday break, Rasmussen likes what he’s seen of his team in its first seven games. And he knows they can be better.

“I think we can come together and play as a team better. We’re pretty good at that but I think that can always be better. We have to rebound consistently each and every possession every night. We take care of those things and I see a lot of good things in the future for this team.”