HTC wrangles tempo in early win over Central Lee

FORT MADISON – Holy Trinity girls head coach Shawn Hopper said he likes a good pace to a game when the Lady Crusaders get to dictate that pace.
But Tuesday’s 43-29 win over Central Lee was at such a fast pace that neither team seemed able to get control of their offense.
“Without giving too much away we want to be able to play uptempo. But with our numbers I don’t want their tongue’s dragging by the fourth quarter,” Hopper said.
“We’ve been trying to see if we can be more of a half-court team. Last year even with the offensive threats we had we struggled to score. I don’t want that to be the case.
“But if we’re the ones trying to force the pace I’m fine with that.”
The game started with a semblance of organization with HTC’s Adalyn Kruse and Teagan Snaadt giving the Crusaders a quick 7-2 lead after Central Lee scored first on a bucket by Taylor Jones.
Snaadt would score in transition in the lane for a 10-5 lead, but Jayden Mueller would score just before the end of the 1^st period to cut the lead to 10-8. HTC shot just 3 of 13 in the first period, but held the Hawks to just six field goal attempts.
Then Holy Trinity got hot. After missing the first three shots of the second period, the Lady Crusaders converted seven of their next eight including three buckets from Kruse inside the lane. Anna Bendlage would connect on a three at the 4:19 mark for a 21-10 lead and HTC never looked back. A 3-ball from Elizabeth Griffin with less than minute remaining in the half gave the Crusaders a 29-12 lead.
Central Lee would cut the deficit to 12 at the end of the third period with a bucket by Lizzy Mason, who finished with 14 to lead the Hawks. The fourth quarter was highlighted by steals and turnovers as the tempo got out of hand for both teams. The final score was set with just over two minutes left in the game as both teams struggled to get set in the half-court and scrambled.
Central Lee Head Coach Taylor Hickey said all the unforced turnovers can be chalked up to first game jitters.

“This is our first time really going up and and down. You can only do so much in practice,” she said.
“(We) definitely found some things we’re going to work on. I liked the tempo. I think we did well in our man-to-man set which we haven’t been able to work on yet, but it showed us we could battle.”
Hickey said Sandoval struggled a little with Kruse’s size, but played very smart.
“I was proud of how both those girls handled each other tonight,” Hickey said. “We’re going to work with Kenna on the inside-out game.”
Sandoval picked up her fourth foul early in the fourth quarter, but Hickey said she needs to learn to play with those fouls because she’s a physical player, and left Sandoval in the game.
Hickey said she has low numbers this year, but is very excited about the season now that the first game is under the belt.
Hopper said the Crusaders are still transitioning to basketball legs from volleyball shape.
"I'm trying to temper my expectations a bit. These girls have a lot of other things going on and I don’t want to push them away with being overzealous with my expectations," he said.
"We want multi-sport athletes and with the enrollment size of Holy Trinity you have to accept that. It’s not an easy pill to swallow sometimes."
Snaadt led all scorers with 16 points followed by Kruse 14 for HTC. Taylor Jones had nine to go with Mason’s 14 to lead Central Lee. The Hawks (0-1) travel to Burlington Notre Dame on Friday, while HTC hosts Danville for another SEISC clash.