How the Ames girls gave a good effort despite a lopsided loss to 5A No. 9 Cedar Falls Friday
The final score might not show it, but the Ames girls basketball team continued taking steps in the right direction during a 71-31 setback against Class 5A No. 9 Cedar Falls on Friday.
The Little Cyclones hung with Cedar Falls for a little over a quarter, but simply didn't have the horses to contain an explosive Tiger offense and fell to 5-10 on the season.
"Credit to Cedar Falls," said Ames coach Cole Cook. "They do a lot of the things that we preach in practice. Getting a paint touch, making a jump-stop kick and the extra pass and hitting the corner 3. They're a well-coached team and they've got some really good players."
Cedar Falls won its ninth in a row to improve to 12-4 on the season. Here's what we learned from Ames' non-conference setback.
Ames plays Cedar Falls tough for a quarter and a half
Ames showed it can battle with elite teams for stretches on Friday.
The Little Cyclones cut an early 14-4 deficit to just 3 points late in the first quarter. They only trailed 28-18 midway through the second quarter.
"We're looking at the positives," Cook said. "Our team is starting to figure out the game of basketball a little quicker than we thought. They're doing a good job of listening to us and playing their butts off."
Haley Prakashan followed up a 14-point night in a 55-43 victory over Des Moines Lincoln last Tuesday with 7 more points Friday for the Little Cyclones.
"Haley keeps getting better and better," Cook said. "There were a couple of times I looked at the bench and said would you have ever thought Haley would produce like this on offense? We're so proud and happy for her because she's come a long way."
More:Meet Haley Prakashan, the uplifting spirit of the Ames girls basketball team
Morgan Wahl came off the bench to lead Ames in scoring with 9 points.
"Morgan has taken a new role coming off the bench," Cook said. "She's having a real positive attitude and doing the things she can control."
Anisa Percival added 6 points and Karsyn Pankonen 5 for the Little Cyclones.
Depth helps Cedar Falls cruise
Even though Ames played Cedar Falls tough for over a quarter, the Tigers were never threatened as they pushed their lead to 21 points by halftime.
The Tigers had too many weapons for Ames to keep up with on the night. Four different Cedar Falls players scored in double figures.
Grace Knutson led the Tiger attack with 19 points. Freshman Karis Finley added 17 points, Gabie Hanks netted 13 and Johnna Dieken scored 11.
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Solid start not enough for Ames girls in loss to 5A No. 9 Cedar Falls
