LONE TREE

A conference rematch was on deck with Highland looking for its first sweep over Lone Tree since 2021, but the Lady Lions were not to be denied at home and made sure the brooms were kept at bay.    

Avenging its earlier season loss, Lone Tree (9-2) utilized a 30-5 first quarter to eventually earn a commanding 67-24 win over Highland (7-4) on Jan. 7.

“Highland is a very good team, and we knew that we had to jump out on them early and I thought our girls really did that,” Lone Tree head coach Ryan Shelman said after the win. “It was a whole team effort, and we got a lot of points off of turnovers and points in transition, and those things are key in a rivalry game.”

Lone Tree out scored Highland in every quarter but it was the first frame where the Lady Lions really left their mark in this conference clash.

Outstanding offense and stout defense were on full display for the Lady Lions in the first quarter as they stormed out to a 8-1 lead, which turned into a 21-2 advantage, and then finally ending at 30-5 in their favor.

“We hit a lot of good shots, I think it got our confidence up and we were getting good looks, which led us into those shots. We were moving the ball,” coach Shelman said about what was working in the first quarter. “We did a good job of getting our offense side to side, and then downhill when we needed to and that really did jump start us offensively.”

Highland never recovered from its large early deficit and overall, it was a quiet night on offense for the Huskies with their final score of 24 being a new season low. Katie Herrig was Highland’s leading scorer with seven. 

“Give credit where credit is due.  Lone Tree executed their game plan and took us to the woodshed,” Highland head coach Jody Fink said. “[Lone Tree] played a very nice game and we could not match their intensity.”

The defensive effort by Lone Tree was intense and consistent, leading to 28 Highland turnovers and limited the Huskies’ leading scorer, Kamryn Fink, to four points. 

“I thought our girls did amazing at that tonight,” coach Shelman said about Lone Tree’s defense against Highland. “Our defensive intensity pretty much drove us the entire night. Our girls just played phenomenal tonight.”

The junior-senior duo of Finley Jacque and Vivian Zaruba led the way on offense for Lone Tree. Jacque scored a team high 21 points to go along with five steals and Zaruba added 19 points to go along with eight assists.   

“[Jacque and Zaruba] shot it really well tonight, but I think they also did it up very well on the defensive end,” coach Shelman said. “They both were confident shooters tonight, and that’s really important for us to see here moving into the second half of the season.”

Columbus 51, Lone Tree 44

It was another chance at redemption for the Lady Lions as they aimed to avoid the season sweep against conference leader Columbus, but it was not meant to be as the Wildcats won a pivotal conference game at home over Lone Tree on Jan. 10.

Strengthening their position at the top of the Southeast Iowa Super Conference, Columbus improves its conference record to 9-1 while Lone Tree’s conference record drops to 7-3.   

In a competitive first half, Lone Tree managed to take a slim four-point lead into the half. Columbus fought back to out score the Lady Lions in the third to take an even slimmer one-point lead with one quarter left to play.

The Wildcats kept Lone Tree at bay in the fourth, winning the quarter by six to capture their first season sweep over Lone Tree since 2014.

Columbus was led by a 15-point performance from senior Lily Coil. She also ended the night with five steals and seven rebounds.

The Lady Lions were led by a double double effort from Cate Sexton. The senior led all scorers with 18 and pulled down a team high 15 boards.

Up next for Lone Tree (9-3) is a home conference matchup against Wapello (4-8) on Jan. 17.      

HIGHLAND 24, LONE TREE 67

Highland    5    5      8    6   -- 24

Lone Tree  30   13   11   13  -- 67

Highland leading scorers: Katie Herrig 7, Katelyn Thomann 5, Emersyn Schultz 5

Lone Tree leading scorers: Finley Jacque 21, Vivian Zaruba 19, Ava Christofferson 8

Highland leading rebounders: Herrig 7, Hailey Brun 6, Fink 5

Lone Tree leading rebounders: Madison Floyd 7, Rylee Shield 5, Cate Sexton 3

LONE TREE 44, COLUMBUS 51

Lone Tree  10   15   11    8   -- 44

Columbus  12    9   16   14  -- 51

Lone Tree leading scorers: Cate Sexton 18, Finley Jacque 7, Vivian Zaruba 5

Columbus leading scorers: Lily Coil 15, Frannie Sosa 12, Isabel Rendon 10

Lone Tree leading rebounders: Sexton 15, Ava Christofferson 7, Alyson Ford 6

Columbus leading rebounders: Naveiah Garza 9, Coil 7, Ariana Vergara 5