It’s raining threes

It looked like Caitlin Clark was on the court Friday as Creston and Glenwood combined for 20 3-pointers in a 71-57 Rams win.

Glenwood (3-3) sank 12 of the 20, three players each with a trio from behind the arc.

“They shot well, and we still had a chance to win,” Creston coach Tony Neubauer said. “But we can’t give up 70 points in a game. That’s not negotiable.”

In the third quarter, Creston (3-5) got within four points of the Rams, down 38-34 after sophomore Marlee Stalker sank a 3-pointer for the Panthers.

The fourth quarter saw 49 points scored between the two teams as eight 3-pointers were made.

Back-to-back shots from behind the arc and Creston senior Hollynn Rieck fouling out early in the final quarter gave Glenwood an advantage the Panthers couldn’t recover from.

“Our problem is we got down by 10 at halftime and we spent a lot of energy getting it down to four and then you run out of gas,” Neubauer said.

Glenwood’s Maggie McChesney led scoring with 22 points. Two other Rams had double-digit points — Kelsey Hughes with 15 and Maggie Smith with 13.

Creston had a balanced attack, no one athlete taking the majority of points.

Senior scoring stud Kadley Bailey led with 12 points on the board. In just over three quarters played, Rieck came up with a double-double, scoring 11 and snagging 10 rebounds. Stalker also contributed 11 points off the bench in just second-half play. She also used her height to bring down five rebounds and block two shots.

“Marlee Stalker came up to play really well for us. She was huge against zone,” Neubauer said. “When Marlee plays with confidence, she’s a really good basketball player. We’re working on that.”

Stalker was a major part of the second-half turnaround by the Panthers. Rieck and Bailey sank back-to-back three pointers in the third to make the score 35-27. Braylee Pokorny scored on an assist from Rieck in the next possession to close the gap even more, forcing Glenwood to take a timeout to regroup.

After the timeout, Rieck scored another two for the Panthers, but the Rams responded with a 3-point shot. Stalker came back with a shot of her own, the one that would narrow the score to just four points.

In the fourth quarter, following Rieck’s fouling out, the Rams went on a 13-point run, sealing the deal.

“I’m not really discouraged,” Neubauer said. “We ran a combination defense where we guarded two girls man and played zone the others. We’ve taken some team’s best shots the last couple games.”

Creston stilled struggled with ball control, turning it over 21 times compared to Glenwood’s 14.

Rieck and Bailey each had three steals. Ella Turner was a steady force for Creston, putting up seven points and nine rebounds.

This meet up doesn’t count as the conference game for these two teams. That will come at the end of January in an eight-game streak of Hawkeye 10 match ups.

Creston returns from the break Jan. 6 in hosting Clarinda.

CRESTON (57) — Totals — (FG FT PTS) 19 11-15 57. Kadley Bailey 4 2-2 12; Hollynn Rieck 4 1-2 11; Marlee Stalker 3 2-3 11; Ella Turner 3 0-0 7; Braylee Pokorny 2 2-2 6; Brynn Tussey 2 1-2 5; Jensan Tussey 1 3-4 5. FG shooting — 19/59 (32.2 percent). 3-point goals — 8/23 (34.8 percent) (Stalker 3, Bailey 2, Rieck 2, Turner 1). Rebounds — 39 (Rieck 10, Turner 9, Stalker 5, Bailey 5, B. Tussey 4, J. Tussey 4, Pokorny 2). Assists — 14 (Rieck 4, Bailey 3, Stalker 3, Turner 2, J. Tussey 1, Pokorny 1). Steals — 9 (Rieck 3, Bailey 3, Stalker 2, Turner 1). Blocked shots — 4 (Stalker 2, Rieck 1, B. Tussey 1). Turnovers — 21. Team fouls — 9. Fouled out — Rieck.

GLENWOOD (71) — Totals — (FG FT PTS) 25 9-14 71. Point leaders: Maggie McChesney 8 3-4 22; Kelsey Hughes 6 0-0 15; Maggie Smith 4 2-2 13. 3-point goals — 12 (McChesney 3, Smith 2, Mya Donscheski 2, Hughes 1, Ava Hernandez 1). Team fouls — 17. Fouled out — None.