Tigers’ third quarter keys win over EL-G

ELHART LAKE – The Howards Grove Tigers looked impressive against the Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah Resorters in a Central Lakeshore Conference girls basketball showdown between county arch-rivals here Friday night.

It was the CLC opener for the Tigers who raised their overall mark to 2-1. The Tigers scheduled league opener Tuesday versus Stockbridge at Howards was postponed due to a snowstorm. A makeup date hasn’t been determined yet.

The Resorters slipped to 0-2 in the CLC (1-2 overall).

The two teams went blow for blow in the first half. Thanks to the Resorters’ hustle and the rebounding efforts of the Tigers, the two teams went into the half with the Tigers holding a 27-26 lead.

The second half proved to be a different story entirely with the Tigers jumping out to a quick 9-0 run. Ali Benning scored four of her 12 points during the run to lead Howards.

The Resorters were outscored 21-9 the third quarter to fall behind 48-35.

“The third quarter was the turning point for us. We made adjustments and got the momentum going our way,” said Howards head coach Heidi Georgeff.

“We did not defend in the second half. I am disappointed in my defense. We did not do what we practiced,” said Resorter head coach Don Kulow.

The Tigers were led by sophomore guard Alexis Lindstrom’s game-high 16 points. Lindstrom also had a team-high four assists and five steals.

Benning contributed 12 points and was second on the team in assists with three and rebounds, eight. Steph Bergman led in boards with nine.

Howards helped its cause greatly by committing only five turnovers, compared with Elkhart’s 19.

“A lot of that was due to our full-court press. We really gave them a lot of problems,” said Georgeff.

Junior guard Stephanie Knepfel paced Elkhart in scoring with 17 and assists, three. Anna Vollrath had a team-high seven rebounds and two blocked shots.

“We didn’t rebound well and defend well. We gave them too many second shots,” Kulow observed.

JV GAME

In junior varsity action, the Tigers won a defensive battle over Resorters, 22-15.

The Tigers were led by freshman Amber Reinemann who scored five points. The Resorters were paced by sophomore Haley Kammerzelt with seven points.

Elkhart shot only 20 percent from the foul line and Howards just 44 percent.

Score by Quarters Howards Grove…..…13 14 21 8 – 56 Elkhart Lake…….…..15 11 9 10 – 45

Howards Grove scoring: Karyssa Gallenberger 5, Alexis Lindstrom 16, Ali Benning 12, Emily Schuh 6, Kasey Latham 5, Hayley Rickmeier 2, Steph Bergman 10.

Elkhart Lake scoring: Stephanie Knepfel 17, Becca Hembel 2, Maddie Landgraf 3, Abbey Neils 4, Kate Vollrath 7, Chelsea Watry 5, Anna Vollrath 7.

Three-point goals Schuh 2, Latham 1, Knepfel 3, Landgraf 1

Field goals: Howards Grove 21-53, 39%; Elkhart Lake 15-29, 51%. Free throws: Howards Grove 9-11, 82%; Elkhart Lake 11-16, 68%.

Rebounds: Howards Grove 25, Elkhart_ L_a_k_e_ 1_8_. _T_u_rn_o_v_e_rs_: _H_o_w_a_rd_s_ _G_ro_v_e_ 5, Elkhart Lake 19.