Split at The Palace as Harlan Community Girls’, Underwood Boys’ Win

Harlan Community's Kate Koesters & Addi Wicks (1-24-26)

Split at The Palace as Harlan Community Girls’, Underwood Boys’ Win –

(1-24-26) – A rare weekend matinee gave saw a Cyclone split.

In the girls’ game, Harlan Community used an 18-0 start to the game to roll over Underwood, 58-41.

Cyclone Coach Zach Klaassen felt his team played the game the way they needed to get the victory.

“We just talked about, you know, to start the game, we wanted our defense to turn into offense. We needed a lot of energy on the defensive end and then that would translate to the offensive end. Thought did a great job. We had great ball pressure going on.”

It was a great start for Harlan Community as they didn’t allow Underwood on the board until 1:15 left in the first qtr. It helped the Cyclones stretch out to a 19-pt lead at the half.

Addi Wicks had 17 pts, hit five of the Cyclone’s eleven 3-ptrs. She said she felt comfortable early with her shot.

“The first half I made two and it felt like a good game and we would get it in, they'd kick it right back out. Clearly my teammates were trusting me because they kept giving me the ball and it just felt open tonight. So I kept shooting.”

Kate Koesters had a pair of threes for Harlan Community and played terrific defense to slow down Underwood. Koester credited Kensley Bruck being a force inside to help the defense do their job.

“We know Kensley covers the inside really well and so she lets us be able to get out and then get those tipped balls.”

Harlan Community ended up getting 17 steals on the game and got 16 offensive rebounds to shutdown Underwood.

Bruck had 5 pts along with 9 rebounds and 4 blocks for the Cyclones.

The Eagles got 16 pts from Ainsley Roberts, 14 in the 2nd half.

The win ended Harlan Community’s 3-game losing streak. Wicks knows that helps with her teams’ confidence.

“After a win, everyone's really happy. The practices after are usually pretty fun. And I think it just builds like a good like bond between us because we know that we can do it and we just need to like keep going and I think these next few games, we'll definitely get it.”

Harlan Community will next play an afternoon contest against Coon Rapids-Bayard at the Casey’s Center in Des Moines on Monday.

In the boys’ contest, Harlan Community held a 9-pt lead in the 3rd qtr, but couldn’t slow down Garrett Luett & Co. as Underwood hung on for a 61-58.

A 3-ptr by Dallas McDowell fell short as Harlan Community lost the 3rd consecutive time. Coach Dean Mosher was pleased with how hard his team played, despite the outcome.

“We were right there until the end. We had a good look at the end for the last shot as well. In it until the end and just came up short.”

The Cyclones had a 4-pt lead at the half and continued to build up that lead with an 8-0 run in the 3rd. But that was followed by a 13-3 run by the Eagles to give them a 1-pt going to 4th.

Underwood went up by five late, but Harlan Community battled back and got a 3-ptr by Kobe Klaassen with 2.3 left to make it a 1-pt game. Nolan Baker hit a pair of free throws before McDowell’s attempt from beyond the arc fell short.

McDowell finished with a game-high 21 pts for Harlan Community, while Klaassen had 16 pts. Luett led Underwood with 19 pts.

It’s the Cyclones third loss in the past six games decided by six points or less. Mosher knows his team needs to take better advantage when they’re in close games.

“We know how to win. We won before, not consistently, but we've been there. And in these situations, we just got to capitalize a little more often.”

Harlan Community will host Denison-Schleswig in the 2nd game of a doubleheader at the Palace on Tuesday.

View past scores by visiting the Iowa High School Athletic Association's website, Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union website,
or Iowa Quik Stats