HTC girls start busy week on good note

A GOOD WIN

“We really gave one away on Thursday, and we played well for a while on Friday. So to get this one really feels good.””

Shawn Hopper, HTC girls head coach

FORT MADISON - It’s a four-game week for Holy Trinity’s girls basketball team, and the way it started was the perfect way to forget how last week ended for the Crusaders.
The 46-39 win over Winfield-Mount Union at Shottenkirk Gym on Monday night was a good bounce-back for the final two games from the previous three-game week.
The 34-24 loss at WACO last Thursday, and the 48-38 loss to Central Lee on Friday, were games in which the Crusaders had leads in both, and couldn’t finish.
“We had a tough week,” said coach Shawn Hopper. “We really gave one away on Thursday, and we played well for a while on Friday. So to get this one really feels good.”
The Crusaders will get in a lot of court time this week — they are home Tuesday against Danville, play at West Burlington on Friday, then play host to city rival Fort Madison on Saturday.
“I think it’s a step in the right direction,” said senior Izzy Behne, who scored six consecutive points in the third quarter to help Holy Trinity (3-8) pull away again after W-MU (1-11) got to within one point with 4:31 to play in the quarter. “Hopefully it can help us at least perform better than we have been. I think we're starting to be able to move better together as a team. We're getting more comfortable, so hopefully we can play well in the rest of the games this week.”
The Crusaders led 17-5 at the end of the first quarter before the Wolves started to cut into the margin. W-MU’s Madison Kellogg had 13 of her game-high 26 points in the second quarter as Holy Trinity only led 24-20 at halftime.
“We came out like gangbusters, like we were really going to take it to them,” Hopper said. “Then defensively, we had some lapses. We stopped moving our feet.”
W-MU kept the pressure up to start the second half, and when Kellogg scored inside and was fouled, she had a chance to tie the game. But she missed the free throw, keeping the Crusaders up 26-25.
“I think it's pretty important we kept the lead,” Hopper said. “I don't know how we would have reacted to that, I'd like to think we would have been OK, but I'm glad we didn't have to find out. We're used to playing without a lead this season, but we're not used to giving up a lead that big.”
Then Behne got the Crusaders going again, hitting three consecutive baskets in the span of 74 seconds to push the lead to 32-25.
“It felt really nice,” said Behne, who had made just five field goals coming into the game. “I haven’t made a lot this season, so it felt really nice to finally be able to make some shots.”
“All season long, she’s been an unsung rebounding hero for us,” Hopper said. “She’s had some six-rebound, seven-rebound nights. To get us some points tonight was just huge. That was a turning point. If we hadn't had somebody step up there, we might be in a different mood right now.”
Hopper liked how the Crusaders were able to put the game away despite starters Elizabeth Griffin and Olivia Bendlage fouling out in the fourth quarter.
“It’s never a situation you want to be in where you have to finish the game without two of your starters, but it was a good experience for the players who don’t get a chance to play in those last few minutes like that,” Hopper said.
Adalyn Kruse led the Crusaders with 22 points. Behne finished with eight points, and Makayla Simpson added seven.