Comet girls lose season finale to Decorah; rematch Wednesday in regional first-round
By Sue Hoefer
Press Correspondent
DECORAH — The Charles City girls basketball team played its final regular season game on Friday night against the Decorah Vikings, and lost 50-35.
It was the Comets’ fifth road game in their last six contests. They have at least one more on the road: a rematch against Decorah in the first round of the Class 4A Region 2 tournament, 7 p.m. Wednesday at Mason City High School.
Going into Friday’s game, the Comets were looking to finish with a win and get some momentum going before heading into the post-season.
Knowing they would meet in again in few short days, a game like this becomes more of an experiment — or a dress rehearsal — for the teams involved to see what works best and what weaknesses can be exploited.
Looking at the scoreboard, you would think the Vikings dominated the first half of play as they led 29-12.
Comets coach Danielle Rippentrop would beg to differ.
“We were aggressive on offense the first half,” she said. “We did a great job of going hard to the basket and getting foul calls. We just couldn’t finish and we missed a lot of free throws.”
The Comets regrouped at halftime and would outscore Decorah 23-21 in the second half. The strong finish came up well short, but it could be something the Comets build from come Wednesday.
Jamie Sindlinger once again played hard and led the Cometswith 12 points. Kelsi Crooks chipped in 9 points and Megan Staudt added 7 points.
Crooks led the team with nine rebounds, Sindlinger had five and Bailey Mitchell had four for the Comets (1-20).
“The girls did a nice job of adjusting to new defense,” Rippentrop said. “We had thrown a lot at them to work on and try to get an idea of what will work well for Wednesday night.
“It’s hard for a team to beat another team three times in a season (with games) that close together.”
Taylor Schurling had a game-high 18 points for Decorah (9-12).
The winner of Wednesday’s game advances to face hosting Mason City at 5:30 p.m. Saturday in the semifinals.
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