Iowa City Regina girls bounce back, boys fall in basketball doubleheader against Wilton

With both teams coming into Tuesday night's doubleheader off a loss, the Regina boys and girls had some work to do against Wilton.

The Regina girls basketball team handled the Beavers swiftly, excelling in every facet of the game to notch a 74-34 victory.

The boys did not have as much success. Their second-half offensive struggles allowed Wilton to grab a 71-54 win.

Here's what we learned Tuesday:

The Regina girls turned their loss to North Linn into a distant memory

The Regals hit a bump in the road when they lost to No. 3 North Linn in their most recent game. That marked their second loss of the season and ended a 10-game winning streak.

Determined to show that the loss was an outlier in what has been a terrific season, Regina imposed its will against the Beavers.

In the first half alone, the Regals scored 49 points, nearly matching their game total against North Linn (52). They did so by routinely forcing turnovers, taking smart shots, and grabbing rebounds off their own misses.

Senior guard Grace Gaarde said she and her teammates pushed themselves harder than usual in practice to get back on track.

"Coming back from North Linn, it was a tough loss," Gaarde said. "We really wished that we could have performed a lot better in that game. So, when we got back to practice we were working really hard to get back to winning and how we want to play as a team. So, to get this win and show what we are made to do was really important for us to do."

The second half was another dominant showing for the Regals, as they held the Beavers to just 22 points.

Regals coach Mary Rogers said she wants her team to be as strong as possible come playoff time.

"It is good to see us settling back into what we know we can do and keep adding on to what we have been doing," Rogers said. "Hopefully that momentum can drive us forward so that we can keep trying to play the best basketball towards the end of the year that we can. I think that tonight was a great start and I am looking forward to finishing out the week game-by-game and keep moving forward."

Grace Gaarde has one of her best games of the season after a busy scoring night

With a team as balanced as Regina's, defenses have to pick their poison when it comes to which player they are going to lock in on.

That means one of Regina's scoring options has a chance to have a big game. On this night, Grace Gaarde was one of the players giving Wilton the most grief. She ended the night with 19 points, doubling her scoring average.

One of four players to score double-digit points, Gaarde said it is always a great night when she can see her teammates shining.

"It makes me happy to see us play like this because I love our team," Gaarde said. "We all care so much about each other that it never is just about one player. We want the best for each other and to grow as a team, not just as individuals."

The sentiment was shared by Regals coach Mary Rogers, who said that seeing her team capitalize on second-chance scoring opportunities was exactly what she was hoping for.

"What we have really, really tried to push was offensive rebounding," Rogers said. "I am going to remind them until I am blue in the face to get those. I want to see the team getting those second-chance opportunities and points. I want to see them grinding and fighting on every possession."

Regina boys' offense sputters after halftime

By halftime, the Regal boys trailed 38-28, within striking distance to come back against their conference foe.

Instead, the flashes that the team's offense showed earlier in the game did not reappear in the second half, allowing Wilton to add to its lead.

The Beavers outscored Regina 33-16 in the game's remaining quarters, including holding the Regals to just seven points in the third.

Noting the difference in the halves, Regals coach Barry Lehman said the team's game plan of getting Wilton's star forward Caden Kirkman out on the perimeter did not go as planned.

"In the second half, that is when we were feeding shots into the paint that got blocked by Caden," Lehman said. "We knew going into the game was that since Caden likes being on the wing ... If he is in the paint, he will rebound, but he won't if he is out on the perimeter. So, we were trying to get whoever he was guarding to take him into the corner, and then try to feed our post guys. Instead, he would still come inside and get those blocks, which they turned into transition points."

Drew Streb does the dirty work for the Regals

With junior guard Michael Martin being the team's top outside scorer, junior forward Drew Streb is in the paint doing some of the dirty work.

Whether that be pulling down rebounds or using his size advantage over defenders to bulldoze his way to the basket, Streb's physicality is a big boost for Regina.

"Since Christmas, I would guess that Streb has been averaging about 13-14 points and eight rebounds," Lehman said. "He is a high-energy guy who takes the drills at practice seriously and it is starting to show."

Regina needed that edge against the Beavers, one of the best teams in the conference. Streb finished with 15 points and was one of the team's top rebounders.

Streb said it all starts at practice, where the players can develop more chemistry with each other and their coaches.

"We have to take (practice) seriously and listen to our coaches and the drills that they give us to do," he said. "Plus, our guards do a really good job of feeding us when they see that we are open."

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Regina's basketball teams split doubleheader against Wilton