City High Bounces Back With Win Over Hempstead
By Pat Harty
Your Prep Sports
IOWA CITY – The City High girls basketball team was in an unusual position against Dubuque Hempstead on Friday.
For the first time this season, the Little Hawks were trying to bounce back from a defeat after losing to rival West High on Tuesday.
City didn’t just bounce back, it did so in dominant fashion, pounding the Mustangs 70-46 at the City gymnasium.
“We were really excited and we wanted to get back after that loss,” said City freshman guard Aubrey Joens. “We knew we could do it if we played together and played hard.
“And we came out and we did it.”
Aubrey and her older sister Ashley Joens nearly outscored Hempstead by themselves, scoring 20 and 22 points, respectively.
“She inspires me a lot and I want to be just like her when I get older and I want to follow in her footsteps,” Aubrey said of Ashley Joens, a 5-foot-11 junior who is committed to Iowa State.
City bolted to an 18-7 lead, but Hempstead answered with an 11-0 scoring that started late in the first quarter and stretched to the second quarter.
Ashley Joens broke an 18-18 tie by making two free throws with 6 minutes, 52 seconds left in the second quarter. Aubrey Joens then made a 3-point basket and Ashley followed with a conventional 3-point play, expanding the lead to 26-18 with slightly more than four minutes remaining before halftime.
Hempstead made a 3-pointer early in the second quarter, but was held to just one basket for the remainder of the first half, which ended with City leading 34-20. The Mustangs only made 2-of-12 field-goal attempts in the second quarter and were outscored 16-5 during the eight-minute period.
Senior center Megan Groneau led Hempstead with 15 points, but she only attempted eight shots while being hounded by double and triple teams.
Containing the 6-4 Groneau was high on City coach Bill McTaggart’s to-do list.
“We did a pretty good job of keeping her out of the block for the most part and we controlled the tempo and our passing was a lot better and our shot selection was night and day compared to what it was,” McTaggart said.
City improved to 15-1 overall and 9-1 in the Mississippi Valley Conference, while Hempstead fell to 10-6 and 4-6 in conference play. The Mustangs only made 17-of-46 field-goal attempts and Groneau was the only Hempstead player to make more than two baskets.
City made seven 3-point baskets as a team, led by Aubrey Joens with four. She made two of her treys during a stretch in the first quarter when she scored eight consecutive points.
“She’s playing better than she was at the beginning of the year and that’s what you want this time of the year,” McTaggart said of Aubrey Joens. “She’s playing like a seasoned vet.”
Aubrey Joens has gained confidence with each game. Aubrey is just like her sister in that she welcomes the pressure and is confident in her ability to make big shots.
“I’m definitely more confident,’ Aubrey Joens said. “I know my teammates can get me the ball when I’m hot, and I know that when they’re open and on fire, then I can get them the ball.
Aubrey Joens always has been confident about her shooting range, maybe too confident at times.
“She still has to take closer threes,” McTaggart said. “Sometimes, she fades back a little bit and we’ve been talking about that in practice.”
Both of the Joens sisters benefit on offense from playing alongside freshman point guard Rose Nkumu, whose unselfishness and vision help to trigger the City offense.
“She gets happy when we score,” Aubrey Joens said of Nkumu, who also scored in double figures with 11 points.
Dubuque Hempstead 15 5 12 14 – 46
City High 18 16 22 14 – 70
Hempstead (46) – Megan Groneau 6-8 3-4 15, Morgan Krug 2-9 2-6 7, Morgan Kluesner 0-3 0-0 0, Holly Bitter 2-5 0-0 5, Madison Fleckenstein 1-7 0-0 3, Mackenzie Paulsen 2-5 0-0 5, Lauren Tressel 0-2 0-0 0, Kaylie Springer 0-2 2-2 2, Murphy Bleymeyer 2-2 0-0 4, Morgan Hearden 2-2 0-0 5, Haley Bryte 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-46 7-12 46.
City High (70) – Ashley Joens 8-13 6-9 22, Kenya Earl 2-6 1-2 5, Aubrey Joens 8-15 0-1 20, Rose Nkumu 4-8 2-3 11, Sydney Schroder 1-4 0-0 2, Christina Hora 2-3 0-0 5, Paige Rocca 0-1 1-2 1, Samantha Greving 0-1 0-0 0, Mikayla Lacey 0-0 1-2 1, Madelynn Fontana 0-0 0-0 0, Shevonna Norris 0-0 0-0 0, Ashley Kuennen 1-1 0-0 3, Sam Schroder 0-0 0-0 0, Virginia Muturi 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-52 11-19 70.
3-point goals – Hempstead 5 (Krug, Bitter, Fleckenstein, Paulsen, Hearden); City 7 (Aubrey Joens 4, Nkumu, Hora, Kuennen). Fouls – Hempstead 13, City 11.