GIRLS HOOPS: Tri-Center slips past Wheelers 39-38

Audubon shifts focus towards Saturday’s opening round playoff matchup with Prairie Valley

By Drew Herron - AJ Sports Editor / Feb. 10, 2014

AUDUBON – Having lost four straight games heading into Monday night, one might empathize with the Wheelers if they felt like they let one get away.

Audubon fell in heartbreaking fashion to Tri-Center 39-38 despite turning in one of its finest collective performances in weeks.

The Wheelers led by as much as eight points in the second half, and held the Trojans’ top scorer Kaylee Grote to about a third of her scoring average, only to see Grote sink the game-winning point from the free throw line in the closing seconds.

Grote’s sixth point of the game proved decisive, allowing Tri-Center to escape with the Western Iowa Conference victory.

“It’s a tough one,” Audubon coach Kim Subbert said. “They weren’t shooting the ball very well, and that kept us in the game.”

The win is TC’s fifth in a row, and pushes the team’s record to 15-5 overall and 14-4 in the WIC. Audubon drops to 7-13 overall and 6-11 in conference.

Audubon was able to take a lead into the halftime break when senior Susie Bylund knocked down a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the first half to drive the Wheelers ahead 20-18, and the momentum would briefly carry over into the third quarter.

Decent long-range shooting allowed Audubon to expand its lead to 28-20 before TC would respond, and trim the deficit to one point at 29-28 at the close of the third.

Tri-Center’s Kirsten Lehan hit a 3-pointer 32 seconds into the fourth quarter to push the Trojans out front 31-29, and TC would never trail again.

Down the stretch, TC was effective at limiting Audubon’s chances with sound defensive rebounding. In most cases, the Wheelers were permitted just one crack at the basket, and with a shooting effort that was streaky at best as the game wore on, Audubon was not able to permanently seize the momentum.

“We had some good looks and shots that rolled in and out,” coach Subbert says. “But they did too, and that’s the way the ball bounces sometimes.”

With 51 seconds remaining, Audubon senior Haillie Anthofer was put on the free throw line with the Wheelers trailing 38-36. Anthofer hit both attempts to knot the game, but TC would get the final shot.

The Trojans then brought the ball up-court and went about killing the clock as they set things up. With less than five seconds remaining, Grote drove into the lane and was fouled and put on the line.

“We talked about the need to stop their dribble penetration,” coach Subbert says. “But that’s probably where they got most of their points, by going to the hole. At times, we did a good job of that, but we allowed them into the lane too many times.”

Grote missed the first attempt, but hit the second in what would hold up as the game-winning point.

Audubon had just under four seconds to piece together a final stab of its own, but seemed to panic and settled for a long-range shot that missed its mark.

“I’m kicking myself for not calling a timeout, I thought that maybe we could have set something up and got a little better look at the basket,” coach Subbert says.

On this night, Tri-Center was defensively committed to keying in on the Wheelers’ top-scorer Susie Bylund, throwing a box-and-one defense at AHS. The “and-one” part of it meant Bylund was shadowed with man coverage for the better part of the night.

It presented a challenge for Audubon, though Anthofer would step up and lead all scorers with 22 points, including some clutch free throws late.

AHS held a distinct advantage from the free throw line, converting 17-of-20. It trumped TC’s 3-of-8 effort, as the Wheelers went the entire first half without a team foul.

Now, the Wheelers shift their focus towards the postseason, following a make-up date with Logan-Magnolia Thursday night.

On Saturday at home, Audubon opens Class 2A Regional Tournament play against Prairie Valley in opening round action.

Everyone involved understands the stakes.

“We know we need to get better heading into our tournament game,” coach Subbert says. “We feel like this was a step forward tonight. Even though it wasn’t a win, we competed hard against a good team, and it was a good effort. We played well.”
Prairie Valley brings in an unimpressive record at 2-16, though they’ve been through a brutal conference schedule in the Twin Lakes. The Twin Lakes Conference is very top-heavy and includes Class 1A’s top-ranked team in Newell-Fonda, as well as two more squads (Manson NW Webster and South Central Calhoun) ranked in Class 2A.