Little Hawks Cruise to Sub-State Victory

Ashley Joens ’18 scored 33 points to outscore Burlington’s 30 as City got an easy 81-30 victory.

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Bella Pittman

Ashley Joens ’18 shoots over a West High defender in the first quarter.

Jonathan House, Sports Editor

City High got off to a fast start, leading 36-7 at the end of the first quarter over the Burlington Grayhounds before putting them away, 81-30. The Little Hawks were able to create turnovers as the Grayhounds tried to inbound the ball, as well as getting turnovers off of the full court press, leading to a handful of easy layups in the first half.

“I was glad that we put them away early and didn’t let up the first quarter. That’s what our job was, to go out there and put them away in the first and that’s what we did tonight,” City High coach Bill McTaggart said.

The Little Hawks were lead by Ashley Joens ’18, who scored 30 of her 33 points in the first half. After building a 58-17 halftime lead, the Little Hawks were able to play everyone on the bench at some point during the game. McTaggart was pleased with the lead his team built and the opportunity he had to play younger players in the second half.

“It always helps with the reps. When you practice hard all week, everybody wants to get in and it was nice we could get all the girls in tonight,” McTaggart said.

With the victory, City High improves to 21-1 on the season and moves on to play in the sub-state finals against 17-5 Ankeny Centennial on Tuesday night. The winner of that game will go to the state tournament at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines to play on Wednesday, March 1st.