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Lofstrom, Warriors tame Bison, 61-23

Williamson clears 1,000-point career mark in Mavs' win

ARMSTRONG — Just another double-double night on the Iowa prep basketball court for North Union junior post player Chloe Lofstrom.

Lofstrom produced game-bests of 19 points and 17 rebounds to power the Warriors to a 61-23 rout over the winless North Iowa Bison during Top of Iowa Conference action Friday night in Armstrong.

The 6-foot Lofstrom entered the league contest, averaging 23.0 points and 11.9 rebounds per outing this season.

Lofstrom poured in 11 of the Warriors’ 28 first-half points and pulled down 13 boards during the first two quarters, while Rory McClellan and Vanessa Von Bank generated steal-after-steal via the home team’s full-court defensive pressure.

“We didn’t shoot as well as we’d like, but we have to keep taking them (shots) if our opponents are letting us have open looks at the basket,” said North Union head coach Merle Tigges, whose lineup produced a plus-14 in the turnover category. “Our defense has kept us in nearly every game this season, and it did it again tonight.”

McClellan produced all four of her thefts in the first half, while Von Bank came off the bench to generate three of her steals during the initial 16 minutes.

Maddie Rolling triggered North Union’s offense off the opening tip by delivering all three of her assists as Lofstrom tallied the green-and-white’s first six points before McClellan cashed in a Brooklyn Prochniak assist for an 8-0 lead by the 4-minute juncture of the first quarter.

Danessa Bruner made 1 of 3 free throws at the 3:59 mark of the first segment to end the Bison’s scoring drought before the Warriors reeled off 18 consecutive points.

Von Bank converted one of Hope Steinberger’s game-best five assists into a 3-pointer and Lofstrom converted a traditional 3-point play in the low post. Von Bank then transformed back-to-back backcourt steals into a pair of layups during the final 18 seconds of the first to extend North Union’s lead to 20-1.

Lily Henderson continued the Warriors’ high-octane scoring ways with two free throws to open the second quarter before Rolling hit a baseline leaner and McClellan sank two free throws.

Senior post player Katelin Adams, who netted a team-best double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds, ended North Iowa’s 0-for-16 field-goal shooting woes with a putback basket with 1:52 remaining in the first half.

Sam Nielsen closed out the first half by cashing in Von Bank’s entry pass into a baseline leaner for a 28-3 halftime lead for the green-and-white.

Prochniak, who tallied nine points to go with three assists, and Rolling drilled back-to-back 3-pointers off Steinberger assists to later widen the Warriors’ lead to 38-8 midway through the third period.

McClellan neared double-double territory by scoring nine points to complement 10 rebounds in helping Lofstrom power North Union to a 48-30 edge on the boards. Rolling and Von Bank each scored seven points, with Rolling adding three steals.

Freshman post player Leah Kramersmeier came off North Iowa’s bench to score eight points.

North Union (9-3) travels to Forest City, Iowa, on Tuesday night. North Iowa (0-13) hits the road to Central Springs, Iowa, on Monday night.

NORTH IOWA (23)

Adams 3-12 5-7 11, Hughes 1-9 0-0 3, Jensvold 0-1 0-0 0, Main 0-4 0-0 0, Bruner 0-3 1-3 1, Kramersmeier 3-5 2-3 8, Boekelman 0-3 0-0 0, Shortenhaus 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 7-38 8-13 23.

NORTH UNION (61)

Lofstrom 7-15 5-6 19, McClellan 3-10 3-4 9, Steinberger 0-7 0-0 0, Prochniak 3-7 0-0 9, Rolling 3-9 0-2 7, Von Bank 3-6 0-0 7, Henderson 0-5 2-2 2, Laverty 0-1 0-0 0, Nielsen 2-3 0-0 4, Beadle 1-2 0-0 2, Tirevold 0-1 0-0 0, Meyer 0-1 0-0 0, Cummins 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 23-69 10-14 61.

3-pointers: North Union 5-28 (Prochniak 3-6, Rolling 1-7, Von Bank 1-4, Steinberger 0-4, Henderson 0-4, Laverty 0-1, Tirevold 0-1, Cummins 0-1); North Iowa 1-14 (Hughes 1-6, Boekelman 0-3, Main 0-3, Bruner 0-2). Fouled out: None. Rebounds: North Union 48 (Lofstrom 17, McClellan 10); North Iowa 30 (Adams 10). Assists: North Union 11 (Steinberger 5, Prochniak 3); North Iowa 3. Steals: North Union 18 (McClellan and Von Bank 4 each); North Iowa 4.

Martin County West 77, Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton 40 — Senior point guard Alyssa Williamson cleared the 1,000-point career scoring barrier on the strength of a 19-point performance to help the Mavericks muzzle the Bulldogs by 37 during Valley Conference action Friday night in Janesville.

Williamson, who entered the league game 18 points shy of a grand, became the 12th player in the MCW girls basketball program to eclipse the scoring mark.

Williamson also displayed her passing skills by distributing a game-best seven assists, while teammate Cheyenne Owens neared double-double territory by scoring 19 points to complement eight rebounds and three assists.

Karlee Thiesse delivered a double-double effort of 11 points and a game-best 10 rebounds to complement four steals for the Mavericks, while Melissa Revland and Marissa Whitehead supplied eight and six points, respectively.

Madison Klima supplied five points and a game-best six steals for MCW, which made 32 of 54 field goals for 59 percent and 11 of 30 free throws for 36 percent.

The Mavericks built a 43-18 halftime lead before outscoring the Bulldogs by a 34-22 margin during the second half.

Martin County West (8-4) travels to Cleveland on Monday night.

St. Clair 53, Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther 41 — MacKenzie Kruse scored a game-high 18 points and teammate Sophie Seys supplied 12 points to twist the Cyclones to a 12-point Valley Conference win over the Jaguars on Friday night in Northrop.

Rachel Stauter produced a team-leading double-double performance of 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Jaguars, while Michaelah Petrowiak supplied six points. Lydia Studer and Lydia Steinhaus each pulled down six rebounds.

Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther (3-9) travels to Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial on Monday night for another conference game.

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