ANAMOSA
Since taking over the reins of the Anamosa girls’ basketball program a few weeks ago, Josh Bentley has been gradually easing his team into new facets with designs of improved play being the main outcome.
While Bentley has been pleased with the progress the Raiders have made, some of the lessons have been a little bit harder to get acclimated to, which played out in Anamosa’s 41-24 setback hosting Beckman Tuesday, Jan. 10.
“We got beat on the boards, we got beat in transition and struggled with Beckman’s very physical style of play,” Bentley said. “But, with all of that being said, we were right there with a chance only down by 10 heading into the fourth quarter. We’ve just got to find a way to make the easy baskets. I don’t know if it’s a lack of concentration, or the kids just not going in there strong enough, but that’s a step in the growth process I want to see this team make. Right now for us, it’s all about the details and habits, and once we better understand that, we’ll be able to close out some of these games.”
It also didn’t help that Anamosa (0-12, 0-7) fell into a 10-2 first quarter hole, one they were never able to climb back out of as Kate Sander tallied the Raiders’ lone field goal in the opening eight-minute stretch.
Norah Humpal got the offense going for the hosts in the second stanza, scoring four of the team’s six points in the stretch and Anamosa trailed 18-8 at the half.
The Raiders once again played even with the Blazers through the third quarter as well, as each team tallied nine points ending with Anamosa on the short end of a 27-17 count at the horn.
“Things just got away from us in the fourth though,” Bentley said. “And that’s been something that has been a little too consistent the last few games. We need to figure out how to start games a little better, and finish them. For the most part we seem to play better in the middle two quarters, but if we can get that same mindset going a little quicker, we’ll be in an even better position come the fourth.”
Sophie Sander and Humpal each led the hosts scoring eight points with Sander connecting twice from beyond the 3-point arc as well as pulling down a team-high six rebounds. Ava Gibbs and Kate Sander added three points each with Kate Sander and Reise Neuhaus coming through with three steals each.
The River Valley Conference contests continued Friday, Jan. 13, with North division leader and class 2A fifth-ranked Cascade coming to town and rolling to a lopsided 50-14 rout.
“I was very impressed with Cascade, they’re every bit of that No. 5 ranking,” Bentley said. “They were up and down in transition and played aggressively and with a lot of confidence, maybe more so than any team I’ve seen this season.”
The game got away from the Raiders quickly, as the Cougars raced to a 19-2 first quarter advantage and never looked back. Though Anamosa didn’t stop fighting.
“That’s what I like so much about these girls, no matter what the score is I can count on them to play hard,” said Bentley as his team trailed 28-7 at the half.
“Our defense, for the most part, was pretty good all night. We held the No. 5 ranked team to just 50 points. But we just left too many points on the floor ourselves, and once again is something that we’re working on. Doing a better job of finishing in the paint. We’re getting the shots we want, we just need to do a better job of making more of them.”
A 14-5 Cougar third quarter run extended the Cascade lead to 42-12 at the horn.
Neuhaus and Humpal paced the hosts scoring five points each while Gibbs added four more.
“We’re to the point as a program now where we expect to be in games,” Bentley said. “Cascade obviously wasn’t one of those for us, but we’ve been in most games we’ve played this year just haven’t been able to close them out. Now, we need to take that next step and expect to win those games. That’s the challenge.”
