Clear Lake puts the brakes on Waukon in girls’ state basketball tournament

DES MOINES - Bart Smith's halftime message was, in the words of Kaitlyn VanderPloeg, the same as usual.

'Coach always tells us, ‘Win the third (quarter).'” VanderPloeg said.

Clear Lake did, and did it decisively. And defensively.

The second-ranked Lions held No. 14 Waukon to seven points in the final 2 1/2 quarters, and pulled away for a 45-24 Class 3A quarterfinal victory at the girls' state basketball tournament Monday night at Wells Fargo Arena.

'Our defense is what won it for us,” VanderPloeg said. '(Emily) Thiess and (Ali) Maulsby really did a good job on (Waukon's Annika Headington). They really got after it.”

Clear Lake (19-1) advances to the semifinal round opposite No. 3 Unity Christian (22-2) or No. 8 Roland-Story (17-4) at 4 p.m. Thursday.

Unity and Roland-Story play their first-round game at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

It's the second straight semifinal appearance for the Lions.

Waukon finished 19-5.

The first half was a back-and-forth display, with four ties, four lead changes and no margin larger than four points.

Waukon tied it three times in the first quarter, then Jayden Knox's 3-pointer at the horn gave the Indians their first lead, 12-11.

Margaret Wacker delivered a 3-pointer to put Waukon in front, 17-16, at the 4:25 mark of the second quarter, but the Indians didn't score again throughout the rest of the half, and Clear Lake took a 21-17 advantage into the locker room.

It didn't get better for Waukon in the second half. The Indians were 1 for 8 from the field in the third quarter, 1 of 9 in the fourth, and made just 2 of 8 free throws after intermission.

Clear Lake grabbed 13 offensive rebounds in a 35-21 advantage on the glass.

VanderPloeg led all scorers with 12 points, and Darby Dodd added 11 off the bench for the Lions.

Wacker paced Waukon with 10 points. One of the best all-around players in Waukon five-on-five history, Headington finished with four.

CLEAR LAKE 45, WAUKON 24

Class 3A State Quarterfinal, at Des Moines

WAUKON (24): Maggie Criswell 1-5 1-2 3, Bailey Shafer 0-2 0-0 0, Brinley Jones 1-2 0-2 3, Margaret Wacker 4-8 0-2 10, Annika Headington 2-7 0-2 4, Jayden Knox 1-4 0-0 3, Paige Hansmeier 0-0 0-0 0, Kaitlyn Krambeer 0-0 0-0 0, Emily Bieber 0-1 0-0 0, Breckan Stewart 0-0 0-0 0, Brenna Burns 0-0 0-0 0, Grace Stegen 0-0 0-0 0, Mackenzie Kaeser 0-0 0-1 0, Emma Palmer 0-4 1-2 1. Totals 9-33 2-11 24.

CLEAR LAKE (45): Ali Maulsby 2-4 0-0 5, Chelsey Holck 2-4 2-2 7, Jaden Ainley 4-10 0-1 8, Emily Theiss 1-5 0-1 2, Kaitlyn VanderPloeg 6-10 0-0 12, Jordan Mayland 0-0 0-0 0, Brooklynn Eden 0-0 0-0 0, Darby Dodd 4-10 1-1 11, Layne Lester 0-0 0-0 0, Altumn Van Horn 0-0 0-0 0, Ashlyn Fread 0-0 0-0 0, Zoe Fasbender 0-2 0-0 0, Ava Richtsmeier 0-0 0-0 0, Xada Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Annika Nelson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-45 3-5 45.

Halftime: Clear Lake 21, Waukon 17. 3-point goals: Waukon 4-17 (Criswell 0-3, Shafer 0-2, Jones 1-2, Wacker 2-4, Headington 0-3, Knox 1-3), Clear Lake 4-14 (Maulsby 1-3, Holck 1-2, Theiss 0-2, Dodd 2-6, Fasbender 0-1). Team fouls: Waukon 14, Clear Lake 14. Fouled out: Shafer. Rebounds: Waukon 21 (Headington 5), Clear Lake 35 (Ainley 7). Assists: Waukon 4 (Headington 2), Clear Lake 10 (Theiss 5). Steals: Waukon 8 (Wacker 3), Clear Lake 9 (Ainley 3). Turnovers: Waukon 16, Clear Lake 16.

Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com