3 takeaways from Ames girls basketball's 41-33 loss to Waterloo East

The Ames girls basketball team was hurt by both a slow start and a poor finish during a 41-33 loss to Waterloo East on Friday.

The Little Cyclones went nearly six minutes without a point and spent most of the game trying to play catch up. They made up ground by halftime, but ran out of gas in the second half to allow Waterloo East to split the season series after Ames won at Waterloo in December.

"We knew we had to come out with more fire and energy because of how the game went last time," said Ames coach Cole Cook. "We just didn't do that."

The loss put Ames at 6-12 overall and 2-4 in the Iowa Alliance Conference North Division. Waterloo East improved to 8-12 and 3-4 respectively.

Here is what we learned from the Little Cyclones' setback.

Poor start sets the tone

The Ames girls dug themselves into a 12-0 hole right out of the gate.

They fought their way back to tie the score at 17 at halftime. But the second half started much like the first, with Waterloo East building a 25-19 lead midway through the third quarter.

The Little Cyclones again clawed back to tie the score by the end of the quarter and they took a 31-28 early in the fourth after a Karsyn Pankonen basket and Morgan Wahl free throw. But then Ames went ice cold as Waterloo East ended the game on a 13-2 run.

Waterloo East slows down Karsyn Pankonen

A big reason for the loss was Waterloo East's ability to contain Pankonen, who went off for a career-high 22 points in the first meeting between the two teams.

She was held to 5 points Friday.

"She does a lot for us," Cook said. "She brings the ball up from one end to the other and makes a lot of stuff happen for us. They did a good job of pinning on her the full length of the court that second half and making her a little tired and frustrating her a little bit. It's on us to find someone to help her out and give her a little bit of breathing room."

Haley Prakashan continued her strong play over the last few weeks for Ames. She went for 10 points and was active defensively and on the glass.

More:Meet Haley Prakashan, the uplifting spirit of the Ames girls basketball team

Wahl and Pankonen both finished with 5 points. Ruthie Hulton led Waterloo East with 10 points and Jaelah Stanford, Ja'Miah Ceaser and Siyanna Cody each added 9 for the Trojans.

Sophia Hatcher shows her potential

Ames did have a bright spot during the loss.

Freshman guard Sophia Hatcher came off the bench and was a tremendous asset for the Little Cyclones during the game. She finished with 6 points and was all over the floor defensively and on the boards.

"That was phenomenal," Cook said. "We've known that she has the skillset. We're trying to get her caught up to the speed of the game and a little bit tougher. She's just come a long way."

Abbey McGuire added 4 points and Anisa Percival 3 for the Little Cyclones.

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Ames girls start and finish slow during loss to Waterloo East