Quick start, defense carries Glenwood to win


Glenwood’s Danika Arnold was one of five Rams to score eight or more points in Friday’s win over Kuemper Catholic. Arnold finished with eight points.

Glenwood opened the game on a 20-0 run, forced nine turnovers and held Kuemper Catholic to 0-of-10 shooting in the opening quarter of a 60-28 victory in Hawkeye 10 Conference girls basketball Thursday.

“We’ll take that any day,” said Glenwood coach Brian Rasmussen of his team’s first quarter.

Despite the impressive first quarter, Rasmussen wasn’t too pleased with his team’s first few possessions of the game. But the coach admits, they got better.

“We had turnovers in possession one and passion two which has sort of been our M.O. early in games but after that, we got things rolling and we were able to do it in the transition game,” he said. “Our ability to speed up the game and get up and down the floor was a big factor in this game.”

The Rams’ press, a mix of man-to-man and zone pressure, had the Knights off-kilter all night. They didn’t get their first point until nearly 10 minutes had passed and trailed 35-13 at halftime. They grabbed 13 steals in all in the game.

“We worked our press we ran tonight quite a bit yesterday,” Rasmussen said. “The kids were ready and excited to do and that translated.”

Offensively, when the Rams’ weren’t getting run out for layups, they were sharp in the half court, puncturing the Knights’ 2-3 zone with a high-low game that led to a plethora of points in the paint.

Half court offense has been a work in progress this season but Rasmussen said his team has been getting more comfortable with it.

“We were trying to be patient if we couldn’t get anything in transition,” he said. “We worked some new sets and I think the kids learned from it and found out what’s going to work and what’s not. They executed pretty well and we got some nice buckets out of our half court sets.”

Madison Camden paced four Rams in double-figures with 13 points of her own. Brylee Arnold added 11 points and nine rebounds and Abby Hughes 13. Jenna Hopp chipped in 10.

“This was a great team victory,” Rasmussen said. “Top to bottom everybody contributed. I thought we shared the ball really well. Not only did we we pass the ball well, everybody had their opportunities tonight. That makes us tough because teams can’t defend just one or two (scorers).”

The top ranked Rams improve to 10-1 overall and 7-1 in the conference.

Glenwood 68,
Harlan 52

Glenwood pulled away in the fourth quarter in a 68-52 win to complete the season-sweep of Harlan in Hawkeye 10 Conference girls basketball Tuesday.

The Class 4A, No. 1 ranked led 47-40 heading into the fourth quarter before close out the game on a 22-12 run.

Brynlee Arnold led four Rams in double-figures with 16 points. Jenna Hopp and Madison Camden added 14 apiece and Danika Arnold scored 10.

Claire Schmitz led Harlan with 26 points and 12 rebounds. Raegen Wicks added 15 points.

 

The Opinion-Tribune

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