Huskies take down Falcons in rematch

By Jeff Yoder
Posted 1/26/22

Kaylee Corbin got whatever she wanted in the first meeting with Highland.

The Falcon senior routinely caught the ball on the block, and scored easy baskets in transition on the way to 26 points in …

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Huskies take down Falcons in rematch

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Kaylee Corbin got whatever she wanted in the first meeting with Highland.

The Falcon senior routinely caught the ball on the block, and scored easy baskets in transition on the way to 26 points in a 43-24 win on January 11. 

But the Huskies had a new game plan for the rematch. 

“We went to a diamond-and-one on her with Katelyn Waters and Mackinze Hora,” Highland coach Jody Fink said. “Both of those girls executed the plan very well. Corbin still had 18 but those two girls played their butts off.

“They did a great job all night on her and were able to frustrate her and get L-M out of their comfort zone.” 

The Huskies snapped Louisa-Muscatine’s five-game winning streak with a 54-44 win over the third-place team in the conference.   

“This was the most complete game we have played to date,” Fink said. “We have been capable of playing at a high level and we finally came out and did.”

The Huskies, who trailed 28-8 at halftime of the first matchup, were locked in defensively on Tuesday. The Falcons scored just four points in the first quarter and Highland led 23-15 at the half. 

Abbi Stransky did it all for Highland with 14 points, eight rebounds, six assists, five steals and four blocked shots. Dani Laughlin led the team in scoring with 17 and added seven rebounds as well. 

Jessica Kraus scored a career-high 15 points on just five field goal attempts, shooting 80 percent in the win. 

“All of the girls played extremely well in one fashion or another,” Fink said. “Jessica Kraus had a huge game for us and played with a ton of confidence.”

The Falcons cut the Highland lead to 36-32 heading into the fourth quarter. The Huskies, who had just 24 total points in the first matchup, scored 19 in the final quarter to pull away for the victory. 

“We got a little impatient a couple of times in the third quarter where they made a push at us but we stayed composed and fought it out to the end,” Fink said. “So proud of the girls as they needed a win like this to push them forward.

“We were able to hit our free throws down the stretch, which was the difference in the game.”

Highland shot nearly 80 percent from the foul line, led by Stransky (6-of-7) and Kraus (6-of-8). Laughlin and Sarah Burton were each 2-for-2. 

The back-to-back wins give Highland (8-9) a winning record in the conference at 7-6. It was just the third conference loss for Louisa-Muscatine, who sits at 11-3 overall.