Central City takes ‘first step’

It's far too early to determine that Central City has turned a corner in girls' basketball.

But Tuesday night at Winthrop, the Wildcats did take a big step toward the intersection.

Samantha Uhlenkamp scored 17 points and Jessica Etten added 16 (hitting four 3-pointers) in Central City's 53-34 win over East Buchanan, breaking a 60-game Tri-Rivers Conference losing streak.

'The hardest part of starting something is taking that first step,” Wildcats Coach Mark Hazlett said. 'Sometimes the hardest part of winning is believing you're going to win.”

After a 16-9 season in 2010-11, in which the Wildcats reached the Class 1A regional finals, the chill returned for a program that has struggled since the advent of five-player basketball. From 2011-12 through last season, Central City went 6-81, with no league victories.

Other than a beating at the hands of Maquoketa Valley, the Wildcats (1-4 overall, 1-3 Tri-Rivers West) had been competitive this season before their breakthrough Tuesday.

'We were right in the game with Alburnett in the fourth quarter (before falling, 48-34, Dec. 4),” Hazlett said. 'We've been a lot better, because we've been able to score better.”

Central City is averaging 41.2 points per game this season, up from 24.9 a year ago.

Hazlett has a realistic goal of seven or eight wins this season.

'Frankly, we are just trying to teach these girls how to play competitive basketball,” he said. 'Our focus is on competing with and beating the teams on our schedule comparable to us in size and ability. We are confident that we will be taking a step in that direction this season.”

The Wildcats are at Midland on Friday.

SMALL-SCHOOL SHOWDOWN

Regardless of class and regardless of conference, the dominant teams in the far northeast corner of the state are Turkey Valley and Lansing Kee.

The Upper Iowa Conference Small Division powers square off Friday at Lansing.

Class 1A No. 3 Turkey Valley (4-0 overall, 3-0 UIC) has outscored its first four opponents by 37.5 points per game, with nobody staying closer than 28. Junior guard Shelby Reicks is averaging 15.5 points, 4.3 assists and 6.5 steals per game.

Seventh-rated Kee (5-0, 3-0) has outscored its competition by 27.2 points per game, with its closest contest a 56-38 win at Waukon in its opener Nov. 20. Ashley Schwartzhoff leads a balanced Hawks attack at 11.4 points per game.

The rematch will be Jan. 19 at Jackson Junction.

NOTES AND NUMBERS

* Western Dubuque's Megan Maahs posted 23 points, 15 rebounds and eight blocks in the Bobcats' 53-45 win over Mount Vernon on Tuesday. Maahs is a Northern Iowa signee.

* Belle Plaine's Morgan Straight reached the 1,000-point mark for her career on Tuesday. Straight, a senior, is averaging 13.2 points per game this season.

* Cedar Rapids Xavier Coach Tom Lilly remains two wins away from the 500-win plateau. Lilly is in his 31st season and owns a 498-219 ledger. Xavier (2-3) is at Cedar Rapids Kennedy on Friday.

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