Fast start fuels Winterset girls

It didn’t take long for Winterset juniors Natalie Smith and Makenna Olson to set the tone for Monday’s non-conference game at Creston.

Going in, Creston’s senior-dominated lineup was 2-0 with wins over Des Moines Hoover and West Central Valley. Winterset, which lost key seniors Brynn Acton and Ashlynn Devine from last year’s team, was drubbed 62-31 in the Nov. 21 season opener by Class 3A No. 4-ranked Des Moines Christian.

In the opening minutes, Smith and Olson ignited an 8-2 start on the Panthers’ court, forcing Creston coach Tony Neubauer out of the original man-to-man defensive plan. But, the Huskies stayed hot in racing to a 77-48 road victory. Olson shot 7-of-18 from 3-point range in finishing with 31 points, and Smith contributed 23 points and nine rebounds.

For the game, Winterset shot 41.4% from long range (12-29) while the Panthers were 2-of-11 from behind the arc. That 36-6 difference in 3-point scoring went a long way in deciding the runaway victory.

Seniors Kadley Bailey and Ella Turner led Creston with 18 points each. Braylee Pokorny grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds. Hollynn Rieck had five assists, six rebounds and seven points.

“We held Olson to one point last year with a box-and-one defense, but they have other shooters that can hurt you and on Dec. 1 we thought we just need to get better at what we do,” Creston coach Tony Neubauer said. “We couldn’t handle them in man-to-man. They’re more athletic, and tonight they really shot the ball well. Some of those shots were several feet behind the arc, and I’m sorry, unless you’re Caitlin Clark, I’m OK with that shot. She just played really well tonight, and Smith is a handful, too.”

At the 5:00 mark of the second quarter, Olson’s 3-pointer gave Winterset a 20-point lead (32-12). At that point Creston seemed to find some offensive rhythm and began to crawl back to a closer margin with a 7-0 run to make it 32-19.

Winterset slammed the door on any comeback hopes by opening the third period with a 10-2 spurt to push it to 44-21. By the end of the third quarter Olson already had 25 points and Smith had 17 as the Huskies held a commanding 55-37 lead.

“We started to do better on offense after we settled down, but against decent teams or bigger schools than us, we have to be more consistent on defense,” Neubauer said. “Our problem was that we dug too big of a hole, then worked ourselves back to like a 12 or 12-point game, and just ran out of gas. It definitely exposed some some things that we need to get better at when it isn’t a great matchup for us. We’ve got a full week of practice to get after it in the gym. The good thing is, our kids played hard, and it’s only Dec. 1.”

Creston plays host to Murray in another non-conference game Dec. 8 before traveling to Class 1A top-ranked Council Bluffs St Albert Dec. 9. The Saintes started the season with back-to-back ranked wins with a 49-45 win Monday night over Class 3A No. 10 Atlantic.

WINTERSET (77) — Totals — (FG FT PTS) 30 5-6 77. Makenna Olson 11 2-2 31, Natalie Smith 10 2-3 23, Klaire Seidler 3 0-0 9, Abby Hoefing 3 1-1 7, Maci Olson 2 0-0 5, Maureen Nigg 1 0-0 2. FG shooting — 30-67 (44.8 percent). 3-point goals — 12-29 (Makenna Olson 7, Seidler 3, Maci Olson 1, Smith 1). Steals — 9 (Makenna Olson 4, Hoefing 2). Rebounds — 36 (Smith 9, Seidler 6, Nordstrom 5, Maci Olson 5). Turnovers — 14. Team fouls — 15. Fouled out — none.

CRESTON (48) — Totals — (FG FT PTS) 19 8-14 48. Kadley Bailey 7 3-4 18, Ella Turner 8 2-6 18, Hollynn Rieck 2 3-4 7, Brynn Tussey 2 0-0 5. FG shooting — 19-57 (33.3 percent). 3-point goals — 2-11(Bailey 1, B. Tussey 1). Rebounds — 32 (Braylee Pokorny 12, Rieck 6, Turner 6, Marlee Stalker 3, Bailey 2, B. Tussey 2). Assists — 16 (Bailey 5, Rieck 5, Turner 2, B. Tussey 2. Steals — 10 (Bailey 4, Turner 3). Blocked shots — 2 (Reick 2). Turnovers — 18. Team fouls — 7. Fouled out — None.