Rams win on road at Shenandoah
SHENANDOAH - The Glenwood girls had four players score in double-figures in a 69-57 road win at Shenandoah Friday.
The Rams (8-6 overall, 5-3 in the conference) went 8-for-8 at the free throw line and out-scored the Fillies (10-6 overall, 3-5 in the conference) in the final quarter.
“This was a huge team win,” said Glenwood coach Wendy Lausen after the game. “When you look down our box score tonight, that was phenomenal. I’m so proud of the girls for stepping up. Myranda Starner finally got some shots to go. Shenandoah is a great team. They were 10-5 coming into this with some great players. I’m extremely proud.”
The Fillies used an aggressive triangle-and-two defense in the first half, face guarding both leading scorer Danika Lucy in the lane and second leading scorer Molly Dean on the perimeter. While the defense slowed Glenwood’s offense at times, Lausen said she had girls step up when they needed to with four reaching double figures and a fifth with nine points.
“They tried to take Danika and Molly out of it but we had other girls step up. Myranda (Starner), Alicia (Leu) and Emma (Ringsdorf) did a good job of knocking down shots.”
Starner finished with 15 points, Leu 13 and Ringsdorf 12 for the Rams.
Lucy grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked five shots to go with her team-high 18 points.
“We’re a better team with Danika in there. She does a good job playing through foul trouble so I was proud of her on defense tonight,” she said.
Glenwood had taken a 33-26 lead into halftime before Lucy picked up her third foul with the Rams leading 35-26 and 6:02 to go in the frame.
The Fillies quickly took advantage with the 6-foot-3 senior out of the middle. An 8-4 Shenandoah run cut it to 37-34 with 4:24 to go in the quarter. Two minutes later, the Fillies’ Jaslynn Parker three-pointer trimmed the lead to 38-37 with 2:50 to go.
Lausen then sent Lucy back into the game.
The move immediately paid off as Lucy’s layup with 1:30 to go put the lead back to 42-37. But a three-pointer by Logan Ehlers and a runner by Jessica Jackson sent the game to the fourth all knotted at 42-42.
The Rams slowly and methodically, pulled away in the fourth with its half court offense. A three pointer and a floater by Ringsdorf and layups by Lucy and Leu put Glenwood out in front 52-45 with just under five minutes to go.
The Fillies would never get closer than six points the rest of the way.
The Rams shot 16-for-18 at the line for the game including their perfect 8-for-8 in the fourth quarter. Shenandoah was 15-of-22 at the line for the game.
“In other games we haven’t made it to the free throw line or knocked them down as much so it’s been something we’ve focused on,” Lausen said. “We now close every practice with everyone shooting 20 free throws. So it’s a lesson learned for me and its something we’ll have to focus on earlier on. But this is the best we’ve shot at the line this season.”
Lausen credited the Rams’ seniors for leadership in a tough road environment.
“We have five senior starters and six on the team,” she said. I told them the other day, we are guaranteed four weeks left in the season so for those six I’ve talked to them about making the most of every day. And they’re buying in. This is a special group.”
The patience on offense in the second half is a key reason the Rams have won seven of their last nine after a 1-4 start.
“At the beginning of the year we had a new offense and everything was new,” Lausen said. “The offense we run, it makes you play quickly but now they’re kind of understanding how to play quickly and in control and be patient.”
Logan Ehlers scored a game-high 21 to lead Shenandoah.