Clinton girls show fight in loss to Assumption

By Jon Gremmels

Herald Sports Editor

CLINTON — Oftentimes since Todd Borrison took over as coach at Davenport Assumption, a double-digit loss to the Knights is full of frustrations. That wasn’t the case Friday.

Assumption’s 46-29 win against Clinton at Yourd Gymnasium didn’t really seem like a 17-point win for the Knights or a 17-point loss for the River Queens.

“I saw a little fight from the girls,” Clinton coach Jason McEwen said.

“The bus was late getting here, we were late getting on the floor to warm up and that’s kind of how the night went,” Borrison said. “We played a really good third quarter but were sluggish in the first, second and fourth. We know we’re going to have some like this, and you’ve got to survive them.”

In almost every area the River Queens played on even terms with the Knights (15-2, 11-1), the Mississippi Athletic Conference leaders and fourth-ranked team in Iowa Class 3A. Each team made 12 field goals; Clinton committed just four more turnovers (13) than Assumption, a team that has feasted on opponents’ miscues in recent years; and the River Queens even outrebounded the Knights 37-34.

The difference came at the free-throw line, where Assumption made 19 of 23 attempts. The difference there was Alyson Spinas-Valainis. Assumption pounded the ball inside to its 6-foot-2 center, and she scored a game-high 22 points, going 12-for-15 from the line.

“We got her a lot of touches, and that’s always a priority,” Borrison said.

Valainis set the tone for the game, scoring the first three points of the game from the free-throw line, and the Knights never trailed after that. Clinton didn’t help its cause by committing turnovers on its first four possessions, including a pair of steals by Valainis.

Assumption led 9-6 after one quarter and extended the advantage to 26-14 by halftime. Twelve of the points came from the free-throw line., the first four by Valainis, who added a three-point play later in the quarter.

At halftime I felt rally good,” McEwen said. “They had 15 points from free throws and we hadn’t shot one. I felt comfortable being down 12. We tried to stress getting to the free-throw line.”

Clinton (8-9, 5-7) did a better job of that after halftime. Colleen Ryan, who led Clinton with 14 points, was 4-for-6 from the line.

The Knights pushed the lead to 23 points on a 3-pointer by Melissa Youngblut late in the third quarter, and they got it to as much as 24 early in the fourth quarter before going the final 3:50 without scoring.



DAVENPORT ASSUMPTION 46, CLINTON 29

ASSUMPTION (15-2, 11-1) — Abbey Strajack 0-3 0-0 0, Sam Thrapp 0-7 4-4 4, Hannah Adams 0-2 0-0 0, Emma Ambrose 0-0 2-2 2, Melissa Youngblut 2-5 0-0 5, Haley Fox 0-1 0-0 0, Sam Holoubek 0-1 0-0 0, Jasmine Binion 1-2 0-0 2, Morgan Steffen 1-2 0-0 2, Hailey Schneden 0-1 0-0 0, Sam Johannsen 3-7 1-2 9, Alyson Spinas-Valainis 5-12 12-15 22. Totals 12-43 19-23 46.

CLINTON (8-9, 5-7) — Courtney Camp 1-5 1-2 3, Rachel Ryan 1-7 0-0 2, Sarah Massey 0-6 0-0 0, Paige Barsema 0-2 0-0 0, Colleen Ryan 5-9 4-6 14, Mallory Voss 3-6 0-0 6, Paige Timion 0-2 0-0 0, Kelsee Griswold 1-1 0-0 2, Hope Rallie 0-0 0-0 0, Larissa Brewer 1-2 0-0 2, Leisha Harris 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 12-45 5-8 29.

Assumption 9 17 17 3 — 46

Clinton 6 8 6 9 — 29

3-point goals — Assumption 3-11 (Johannsen 2-4, Youngblut 1-3, Strajack 0-2 , Adams 0-2); Clinton 0-5 (R. Ryan 0-3, Camp 0-1, Massey 0-1). Total fouls — Assumption 14; Clinton 17. Fouled out — None. Rebounds — Assumption 34 (Valainis 7); Clinton 37 (Massey 6). Assists — Assumption 7 (Thrapp 3, Youngblut 3); Clinton 9 (R. Ryan 2, Massey 2, Voss 2). Steals — Assumption 6 (Valainis 2); Clinton 3 (Camp 2). Blocked shots — Assumption 3 (Three with 1); Clinton 3 (Harris 2). Turnovers — Assumption 9; Clinton 13.

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