Comet girls basketball team gets first win of season

Charles City finishes strong to beat Vikings, 46-34

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

DECORAH — There was a juncture in the second half where the Decorah Vikings came from behind to tie the game at 23 while hosting the Charles City Comets in Northeast Iowa Conference girls basketball action Friday night.

“At that point, the game could have gone either way,” Charles City head coach Danielle Rippentrop said. “If this game was held before the holiday break, it would have probably gone the wrong way for us. But our team is playing much better now, so it ended up going the other way.”

That way was a 46-35 Comet victory, the team’s first of the season.

Sophomore Jodie Sindlinger led the way with 15 points for the Comets (1-10, 1-5).

“She’s been playing much better in the post for us lately,” Rippentrop said of Sindlinger, “and the whole team is playing much better on the defensive end. They’re talking to each other … they’e communicating better.”

The Comets have been flirting with victory several times over the past month. The week before while hosting Waukon, they surged to a 3-point lead at the half only to go cold in the second half.

The 46 points scored against the Vikings ties a season-high for Charles City, which previously scored that much in a 49-46 road loss to Oelwein where the Comets nearly overcame a large first-half deficit.

“We always go into a game thinking we can win,” Rippentrop said. “We just need to keep on improving.

“You’re supposed to be playing your best basketball at this time of the year.”

Decorah, which was held to just 2 points in the first quarter, fell to 2-9 and 0-4 for the year.