Successful start

A challenging pre-conference schedule seemed to effectively prepare the Southwestern women for Saturday’s Iowa Community College Athletic Conference opener against Marshalltown.

Both teams had one win going into the league opener, and the Spartans established control early in securing a 64-46 victory.

Southwestern (2-6, 1-0 ICCAC) took a 22-13 lead after one quarter and by early in the second quarter the Spartans pushed the margin to double figures for most of the game.

Marshalltown (1-6, 0-1) trailed by 14 points at halftime (38-24) but the Tigers gained some momentum in cutting it to nine at 48-39 with 7:05 remaining. SWCC finished on a 16-7 run to stay in command for the duration.

Spartan coach Darian Wingate was pleased with how his young team responded to Marshalltown’s challenge down the stretch.

“When we called timeout we said the games that we lose, we usually do it to ourselves,” Wingate said. “We reminded them that the theme for today was — don’t do it to ourselves, and do our jobs. It’s a huge testament to the girls for finishing the way they did.”

Coming off a 77-45 loss to No. 2-ranked Johnson County on Wednesday, Wingate noticed the team arriving Saturday with a determined attitude.

“They came in this morning and they were focused on this win,” Wingate said " Our attention to detail was better. Our defense was really a key tonight. We had the energy on the defensive side. We’re struggling to score a little bit, but as long as we get stops, we can stay in it.”

Sophomore point guard Cassidy Nelson of Lenox kept the offense steady and finished with a team-high 19 points. The freshman wing duo of Shyla Moore and Brooklyn Hadl were effective with 10 and 16 points, respectivey, and 6-2 center Mikayla Hearon added 12 points.

“Cassidy, being a sophomore, her presence and poise on the court gives other players confidence,” Wingate said. “She’s a warrior and will go out and get rebounds. Hearon was physical inside for us tonight. Shyla Moore is a star defensively for us. Brooklyn brought an intensity and energy that opened up things for other people.”

It’s a tough road week ahead for the Spartans, traveling to Cedar Rapids Wednesday to take on top-ranked Kirkwood, followed by a trip to Estherville to face Iowa Lakes on Saturday.

“We needed this today,” Wingate said. “We told the girls that we understand our out of conference schedule was tough, by design. Four of our losses were to top-10 ranked teams. I think that got them ready for the conference. Like we told them, this is the beginning of a new season, in the conference.”

MARSHALLTOWN — (46) — Totals — (FG FT PTS) 16 11-22 46. Tarah Campmbell 7 3-7 18, Destiny Sao-Martinez 3 4-8 10, Ekin Taciroglu 2 0-0 5, Jada Walton 1 2-2 4, Nyajah Orr 1 0-2 3, Abigail Rivera 1 0-0 2. 3-point goals (3) — Campbell 1, Orr 1, Taciroglu 1. Team fouls — 19. Fouled out — None.

SOUTHWESTERN (64) — Totals — (FG FT PTS) 21 16-21 64. Cassidy Nelson 6 4-4 19, Brooklyn Hadl 5 4-4 16, Mikayla Hearon 4 4-5 12, Shyla Moore 3 3-4 10, Sharmaine Tapling 2 0-0 4, Samair Colon 1 0-0 2, Gabby Dwanyen 0 1-4 1. 3-point goals (6) — Nelson 3, Hadl 2, Moore 1. Team fouls — 19 Fouled out — None.