Shakamak spoils Clover girls' senior night, 60-36

CLOVERDALE-- A game between the Shakamak Lakers and the Cloverdale Clovers girls' basketball teams took place Friday night. The Lakers size swallowed up the Clovers and they prevailed, 60-36.

For those who thought the game was Tuesday night, it was postponed to Friday due to inclement weather.

The game was Cloverdale's senior night and the Clovers sent away three seniors. Megan Helterbrand, Chelsea Combs and Carla Dausend were among them.

Unfortunately, the Clovers (5-14 1-4 WCC) were not able to send the seniors home with a win.

Shakamak (14-7 6-2 SWI) was just too big and had an exceptional chemistry about them.

6-feet-2 inch junior Kai-Brith Kalda was the dominat force for the Lakers. The Clovers were unable to stop her and her team was always able to get her the ball.

"I think it was a test for us. It obviously had a big impact on the game tonight," Clovers' coach Matthew Langdon said, "South Put also has some bigs. We proved we can play with two lineups tonight."

The chemistry played a huge part in the win, but the Clovers played with more heart. They gave everything they had tonight and Coach Langdon was very proud.

"I think we played with some heart tonight," Langdon said, "We definitely disrupted their flow."

Cloverdale was also able to spread the Laker's zone and get penetration. Shakamaks coach B.A. Shipman said one of the team's main goals was to stop Cloverdale's junior Bailee Steven's penetration.

Stevens had some troubles, but she got the best of Shakamak by getting to the line six times where she hit 10-of-11.

"Especially early on, she did some really nice things," Langdon said, "She just can't take it all on by herself. When she gets relaxed and can rely on her teammates she does really well."

Stevens, as well as the other Clover guards, also hurt the Lakers by kicking the ball out.

"We played some our best basketball in the first half," Langdon said, "We were able to penetrate and kick the ball out. We were looking to attack and we got settled. We shot a few too many threes tonight, but it was not enough to disrupt us."

Speed was in favor of Shakamk and they covered the floor quicker than the Clovers could get set. Six Laker steals proved to be key as they got eight points.

Cloverdale wanted this win against a great team because it would have given them plenty of confidence entering sectionals on Wednesday.

The games will take place at Speedway High School and the Clovers will take on the South Putnam Eagles.

The Clovers have swept the Eagles winning two games to none this regular season. The Eagles gave Cloverdale a late scare last Friday, but the Clovers pulled it out.

At Cloverdale
Shakamak 19 16 12 13 -- 60
Cloverdale 13 9 5 9 -- 36
Individual Scoring
Shakamak (60): Kalda 7-15 3-4 19, Hudson 5-16 2-2 15, Beck 3-10 5-7 14, Samm 3-4 0-0 6, Gallagher 2-3 0-0 4, Garo 2-4 0-0 4, Hinkle0-1 0-0 0, Mattox 0-0 0-0 0. Shipman 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 24-56 10-13 60.
Cloverdale (36): Stevens 4-12 10-11 18, Dorsett 3-8 0-0 7, K. Helterbrand 2-5 0-0 0, M. Helterbrand 1-4 2-3 4, Combs 1-3 0-0 2, Worthington 0-5 1-2 1, Clark 0-4 0-2 0, Huge 0-0 0-0 0, Winders 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 11-44 13-18 36.
Team Stats
Assists SHS 8 CHS 6, Blocks SHS 4 CHS 2, Steals SHS 6 CHS 4, Turnovers SHS 10 CHS 8