The Iowa Falls-Alden basketball teams split a North Central Conference doubleheader against Humboldt on Friday night, as aired on 104.9 KLMJ. The Cadet girls earned a 59-53 victory, while the boys fell 52-33.
Izzy Janssen and Elody England set career highs in scoring with 22 and 29 points, respectively. The Cadets fell behind early and went into halftime trailing 36-28. Iowa Falls-Alden responded after the break, with timely scoring and turnovers to outscore Humboldt 21-8 to take a five-point lead into the fourth quarter. The Cadets sealed the victory by outscoring the Wildcats 10-9 in the final period.
Janssen says defensive focus and sustained effort were key in the Cadets’ win.
“I think it went really well and we played really good defense, and I think we really stuck through it the whole game,” says Janssen. “We knew throughout the whole game we needed to play our best and we couldn’t let up, and I think we did that and it ended in our favor.”
After falling behind early, Collison says his team stayed committed to the game plan and let its defense take over.
“Yeah, I just was really proud of our girls for, we got in a hole early,” says Collison. “I’m really proud of them for staying the course and sticking with the game plan. And the story of our team this second half of the year so far is the third quarter has really bit us. And we have good first halves and then we come out in the third and we really struggle. Tonight it just flipped, we had a really tough first quarter and then we really played well throughout the rest of the way. And man, I just thought we played a great game defensively and that carried us.”
The Cadet boys fell behind early as the Wildcats took control with strong 3-point shooting, while Iowa Falls-Alden struggled to find an offensive rhythm. The Cadets trailed 35-15 at halftime.
Iowa Falls-Alden matched the Wildcats in the third quarter, with each team scoring nine points. In the fourth quarter, the Cadets outscored the Wildcats 9-8, but the early deficit proved too much to overcome. Brody McNeal and Collin Pieper led the Cadets with nine points apiece.
The Cadets return to action Tuesday when they host South Hardin.
