Poky’s Ruffridge is small but mighty

DES MOINES - It's not a stretch, Elle Ruffridge insists.

'Yes, I'm 5-foot-3,” she said. 'The nurse measured me and wrote it down.”

Despite her size, or lack thereof, Ruffridge is on pace to become one of the most prolific scorers in state history.

The sophomore from Pocahontas Area scored 21 points - a rather pedestrian total for her - in the second-ranked Indians' 63-59 victory over Clear Lake in a Class 3A quarterfinal at the girls' state basketball tournament Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Arena.

Fourteen of those points came in the fourth quarter; Pocahontas rallied from an eight-point deficit in the final 4 1/2 minutes to survive.

'I didn't have my best game, but that's OK,” she said. 'In the fourth quarter, I had to step up and make some shots and make some free throws.”

Ruffridge drilled a 3-pointer from the left corner to bring the Indians within 52-50, then her seventh and final assist set up Faith Meyer's triple to make it 54-53. Grace Meyer's 3-pointer gave the Indians the lead for good at 58-56, then Ruffridge make 4 of 5 free throws in the final minute.

Ruffridge is the state's leading scorer this season; she entered Tuesday's game averaging 27.0 points per game. She had three 3-pointers, upping her season total to 110, the second most in Iowa history. Her 12 treys against Alta-Aurelia on Dec. 12 is a state single-game record.

It wasn't as if Ruffridge was forcing shots Tuesday. She took only 13 attempts from the floor, making six.

'(Clear Lake) defended her extremely well,” said Poky Coach Robert Maske. '(Guards Lindsey Loudenburg and Kaye Faber) were extremely quick.

'But Elle showed a lot of resilience. She never panicked.”

Ruffridge's career scoring total now stands at 1,280 points. She's in the neighborhood of the pace that all-time leading scorer Deb Remmerde of Rock Valley paved. Remmerde finished with 2,756 points.

'Her stats don't lie,” Ruffridge said. 'She was really good.”

Ruffridge has received scholarship offers from Northern Iowa, Missouri State and Nebraska-Omaha. She's quick, smart and has a motor stuck on high.

A 13th-place finisher at the 1A state cross country meet last fall, Ruffridge and three of her teammates jogged the Wells Fargo halls for 20 minutes before Tuesday's game.

'The thing I like most about her is that she worked on the weakest parts of her game last summer,” Maske said. 'She worked on developing a step-back shot and a floater.”

Pocahontas Area will face No. 5 Crestwood in a 3A semifinal at 5 p.m. Thursday.

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