Jenna Lehman, Aleena Hobbs lead Coe women’s basketball to sixth-straight victory

CEDAR RAPIDS - The women's basketball season has turned around for the Coe Kohawks, and seniors Jenna Lehman and Aleena Hobbs are leading the charge.

Lehman scored 20 points, while Hobbs broke the school record for career rebounds as Coe won its sixth game in a row, 85-47, over Buena Vista in an Iowa Conference game Wednesday night at Kohawk Arena.

'We're just meshing together really well,” Lehman said. 'We play together as a team. We know each other's strengths, we know our roles and that's really what is getting us to where we are today.”

During the current win streak, Lehman has averaged 21.5 points per game and has led the Kohawks in scoring in five of the six games. The Iowa Conference recognized the former Iowa City Regina prep with a pair of honors in each of the last two weeks (Female Athlete of the Week and Women's Basketball Player of the Week).

'I attribute it to my teammates a lot,” Lehman said. 'They look to me when I am open, they're setting good screens for me.”

Coe (10-9, 7-3 IIAC) used a 16-0 burst in the first quarter to open a double-digit lead it would never relinquish. After Buena Vista got within 10 points at 35-25 late in the second quarter, the Kohawks closed the half with a 13-2 surge.

'I think everyone has just bought in to what the coaches have been putting out to us,” said Hobbs, who prepped at Cedar Rapids Washington. 'They tell everyone to play their roles, do their strengths, do what they do whether we are on offense or defense and everyone is just buying into that. We are starting to click at the right time.”

With four rebounds, Hobbs became the career rebound leader in school history with 697. The mark surpassed her coach, Kayla Waskow (695).

'It means a lot to me to know that I've been able to work my way up in the record books,” said Hobbs, who scored 16 points. 'It's always good to get one over on my coach every once in a while.”

Freshman Madeline Wilkins made six 3-pointers and scored 18 points off the bench for Coe, while senior center Karlee Grabau collected a game-high seven rebounds.

Claudia Larsen led Buena Vista (9-10, 4-6) with 17 points.

After a 1-3 start to the conference season, Coe is now tied with Luther for second place. The Kohawks visit Loras (12-7, 4-6) on Saturday.

'Each game is as big as the one before, if not bigger,” Lehman said.

AT KOHAWK ARENA

BUENA VISTA (47):

Holly Schneider 3-7 0-2 6, Morgan Muhlbauer 2-6 0-0 4, Claudia Larsen 5-10 7-8 17, Jasmine Demers 3-13 2-2 9, McKenna Whitehill 0-7 0-0 0, Destiny Einerwold 1-2 0-0 2, Cassy Miller 1-3 0-0 2, Beth Sibenaller 1-1 1-2 3, Jenn Poots 1-2 0-0 2, Hannah Appleseth 0-1 0-0 0, Jess Denholm 1-5 0-0 2, Jacey Stratton 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 18-58 10-14 47.

COE (85):

Aleena Hobbs 6-14 2-2 16, Jenna Lehman 8-11 1-2 20, Karlee Grabau 0-2 0-0 0, Sydney Schroder 2-3 0-0 4, Jordan Holmes 3-5 0-0 7, Janielle Cobler 0-0 0-0 0, Mallory Hillman 1-2 0-0 2, Jamie Feldt 1-1 0-0 2, Lakyn Boltz 1-2 0-2 3, Kyna Smith 0-1 0-0 0, Jackie Feldt 3-5 3-4 9, Madeline Wilkins 6-9 0-0 18, Destiny Smith 0-2 0-0 0, Taylor Huber 0-1 0-2 0, Shelby Lehmann 0-0 0-0 0, Cassie Norton 0-0 0-0 0, Rylee Claussen 0-1 4-4 4, Totals 31-59 10-16 85.

Buena Vista 15 12 12 8-47

Coe 28 20 18 19-85

Halftime - Coe, 48-27. Three-point goals - Buena Vista 1-18 (Demers 1-5, Einerwold 0-1, Miller 0-1, Stratton 0-1, Muhlbauer 0-1, Whitehill 0-2, Schneider 0-3, Denholm 0-4), Coe 13-23 (Wilkins 6-7, Lehman 3-5, Hobbs 2-3, Holmes 1-2, Boltz 1-2, Schroder 0-1, Hillman 0-1, Smith 0-1, Huber 0-1). Rebounds - Buena Vista 32 (Denholm 6), Coe 42 (Grabau 7). Assists - Buena Vista 9 (Larsen 4), Coe 24 (Lehman 5, Schroder 5, Holmes 5). Turnovers - Buena Vista 17, Coe 14. Total fouls - Buena Vista 19, Coe 16. Fouled out - Demers. A -

407.

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