Slow starts left the Clear Lake girls basketball team in a hole too deep to get out of in a pair of games played last week.  The Lions dropped contests with Humboldt and Forest City and fell to 2-11 overall and 0-2 in the league.

Humboldt 65, CL 44
    The Lions had trouble getting back in the groove after the holiday break and Humboldt rushed out to a 23-10 first quarter lead and never looked back.  The Wildcats were up 36-19 at the half and coasted to a 65-44 North Central Conference win at home Friday, Jan. 4.
    A slow start in the first quarter created too many scoring opportunities for Humboldt.
    “We totaled 21 turnovers for the game,” pointed out Clear Lake Coach Kay Bacon.  “Humboldt finished with 16 turnovers.  However, over half of those turnovers occurred in the first quarter. This made it an uphill climb the rest of the game.”
    The coach noted her team took good shots throughout the game, but couldn’t get them to fall when they needed them. The Lions made just 17 of 41 field goal attempts (41 percent) and were 2/12 (17 percent) from three-point range.  Cold free throw shooting (4/13 for 31 percent) also slowed the Lions.
    Clear Lake was led in scoring by Allison Schaefer with 12 points.  She also had a steal and assist, as well as four rebounds.  Macey Hansen contributed nine points and eight rebounds to the team, while Victoria Nicholas finished with eight points, four steals, four assists and two rebounds.
    Torrie Hansen had four points and rebounds, as well as two assists and a steal.  Kristin Weigel also had four points, two assists and steals, and five rebounds.
    Kara Mathis was a force on the boards with seven rebounds.  She was also credited with three points, an assist and a steal.  Katie Barkley and Breann Mumm got into the scorebook with two points apiece. Mumm also had a pair of steals and assists.
    “We knew they were a good team (7-1) going into the contest,” said Coach Bacon.  “We felt we had too many unforced errors during the game. We’re looking forward to having another opportunity to play them.”

Forest City 69, CL 48
    Another slow start left the Lions with an uphill battle Saturday night at Forest City.  After trailing 22-4 after the first period, they settled in, but were defeated 69-48.
    “We know, from experience, that we must play consistently for all four quarters.  We accomplished that during the last three quarters, but were unable to get the job done during the first quarter.  Forest City is a quality team and we knew it was going to take everything we had to finish on top,” said Coach Bacon.
    Macey Hansen had a strong night for the Lions.  The sophomore recorded a double-double, scoring 10 points and pulling down 12 rebounds.  She also made three assists and had a steal in the game.
    Victoria Nicholas also had a solid outing.  She led the team in scoring with 17 points and grabbed five rebounds.  The senior also had an assist and steal.
    Kristin Weigel poured in eight points for the Lions and Allison Schaefer had six points and rebounds, as well as two steals and assists.
    Kara Mathis helped the team with five points and four rebounds, while Torrie Hansen had two points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
    The Lions out-rebounded their opponent 37-33, but turned the ball over 22 times to Forest City’s 13.
    Coach Bacon noted the two teams were nearly equal in shots attempted, with the Indians taking 64 compared to 60 for the Lions.  The difference was in the shooting percentage.  Forest City shot at 43 percent (24/56) from two point range and were 63 percent (5/8) from beyond the three-point line.  The Lions shot at 35 and 36 percent from the two ranges respectively.  The Indians also won the battle at the free throw line, making 6/11 (55 percent), compared to 2/8 for the Lions (25 percent).