Clear Creek Amana's girls basketball team bounces back with a big win over Mount Vernon

TIFFIN —On Tuesday night, the No. 7 Clear Creek Amana Clippers had the chance to make their case for the WaMaC-West Conference title as they hosted the No. 11 Mount Vernon Mustangs.

The Clippers (8-2) didn't disappoint and decisively took down the Mustangs (7-5) 70-49 to earn their sixth conference win of the season.

Here are three takeaways from CCA's decisive win.

Ball movement has become a point of emphasis for the Clippers

On each of Clear Creek Amana's offensive possessions, it seemed like multiple players had to touch the ball before they would attempt a shot.

Their methodical offense seemed to throw off Mount Vernon's 2-3 zone and helped the team create several open shots for their perimeter players.

While most teams would prefer their players to take their shots earlier in the shot clock, Clippers' coach PJ Sweeney said that he wanted his team to focus on setting up better opportunities for each other.

"We shared the ball and made the extra pass to get open looks," Sweeney said. "But I told the girls that the first shot might be open, but if we can continue to work that ball, the second or third opportunity is even more open."

Averie Lower is making a statement during her freshman season

With the star forward tandem of Ava Locklear and Bliss Beck taking up much of the defense's attention, it allows their teammates to get favorable matchups during each game.

But after the night that freshman guard Averie Lower had on Tuesday, teams might not want to risk giving her open looks at the 3-point line.

Lower finished the night with 18 points, hitting five shots from beyond the arc during the game.

Lower said that the communication between her and the rest of the team helped make the big night happen.

"Everything started on the defensive end," Lower said. "We got a lot of steals and our communication in transition helped us to get a lot of shots up. Plus, my teammates cheering me on and having confidence in my shot really helped me play well tonight."

The Clippers look to be out of their shooting slump

Whether it be from the paint, mid-range or behind the 3-point line, the Clippers were hitting from everywhere in their blowout victory over the Mustangs.

That had not been the case over the past two games where they had combined for just 79 points

Sweeney said that he knew the shots would start falling for his team soon.

"We had been shooting well in practice," Sweeney said. "I thought that being in our comfort zone of playing at home made a huge difference. We have tremendous shooters and know that eventually shots are going to fall and tonight they did."

The top scorer for the Clippers was senior guard Olivia Miller, who scored 20 points, including 12 in the third quarter.

Miller said the team is hoping to keep the momentum from this performance going and that he's confident they can exploit any defense that comes their way.

"It is good knowing that no matter what defense we are playing against, we have something to back it up," Miller said. "If they double-team inside we can kick it. If they are giving us really hard pressure on the outside we can pound it inside and get layups."

The Clippers will have their reinvigorated offense put to the test on Friday when they head to Center Point to face another talented conference opponent, the Center Point-Urbana (9-5)

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: CCA girls basketball team ends scoring slump against Mount Vernon