Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – The wait for her first career start was a long one for Regina senior Abby Clark.

The reward for three seasons of waiting came on Tuesday and Clark made sure it was worth it.

Clark scored the first four points of the game and finished with a career-high 21 points as Regina led from start to finish in a 61-44 victory over Tipton in the season opener for both teams in Iowa City.

“I’ve always wanted to be able to play and help the team and I feel like I’ve been ready to do that I just haven’t been able to,” Clark said. “It feels really good to get to play with my whole team.”

Clark has had to wait longer than she planned for her shot in the starting line.

Two seasons ago Clark saw action in 14 games while waiting her turn behind a long list of upperclassmen.

Last season a foot injury cost Clark half the season and slowed her progress the second half of the year.

In her first career start on Tuesday Clark showed everyone else what her teammates have seen from her at practice throughout her career.

Clark hit 7-of-12 shots including a 3-pointers and grabbed six rebounds helping the Regals shoot 52 percent from the floor.

“We all knew what she was capable of,” Regina senior Annie Gahan said. “Growing up playing with here I’ve seen what she can do. She came out ready to shoot and she really filled in a spot that we needed to get us going.”

Gahan added 21 points, 11 of which came in a 21-point Regina third quarter as the Regals broke open a one-point game at the half.

While Gahan came on late, Clark was a constant for Regina in its opener.

The 5-foot-7 senior guard had eight points in the opening quarter as Regina built an early 10-point lead.

Clark then helped Regina pull away after halftime with five points in a 12-1 Regal lead to open the second half.

“She is due, she was due and she showed it,” Regina coach Mary Halvorson said. “She showed it getting in passing lanes defensively, she showed it with her shot. I am super proud of her for what she brought in game one after injury and waiting her turn.”

Regina scored the first eight points of the game and led 16-6 after the opening quarter.

Tipton, coached by former Regina head coach Matt Bolger, closed the first half on a 15-5 run to pull within a point at 24-23 at halftime.

“Our coaches told us to stay composed because we were getting a little jittery,” Clark said. “We knew if we played composed we would be fine.”

Clark scored the first three points of the second half on free throws and a 3-pointer by Grace Gaarde pushed the Regina lead to 30-23 with 6:30 left in the third quarter.

Gahan took over from there, scoring 11 points in the final 5 minutes of the quarter as Regina built a 15-point lead.

“At the beginning we were all over the place and when we came in the locker room I told everyone that we just had to take a deep breath,” Gahan said. “Coaches’ big thing is we have to stay composed and the third quarter we came out and took a deep breath and played our game.”

A layup by Gahan off a Clark assist with five seconds left in the third quarter gave Regina a 45-30 lead.

Clark finished tied for the team lead with three assists.

“She is a great kid who is a smart kid on the floor, she understands every concept that we throw at her, she is a great leader,” Halvorson said. “I need another threat from any point whether it’s defense or offense but scoring especially. We lost a lot from last year so we are ready for her to step into that role and I know that she is ready.”

After giving up 17 points in the second quarter Regina held Tipton to 21 second-half points.

The Regals forced Tipton into 27 turnovers on Tuesday, 17 of which came in the second half including 10 in the pivotal third quarter.

“When we work together and put it all together we can do really good things,” Clark said. “We just have to keep working hard and we will do great.”

Regina            16  8  21  16  –  61

Tipton             6   17  7   14  –  44

Regina (61) – Grace Gaarde 3-5 1-2 8, Annie Gahan 9-17 2-2 21, Abby Clark 7-12 6-8 21, Lily Simpson 0-4 0-0 0, Hope Simpson 2-4 0-0 4, Alli Dillon 3-3 0-0 7, Alli Clark 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 24-46 9-12 61.

Tipton (44) – Allison Nash 2-9 0-0 4, Alex Hoffman 6-11 1-2 15, Brenna Wilkins 4-5 0-1 8, Carly Langenburg 0-0 1-2 1, Ashley Hatland 1-2 0-2 3, Rachel Bierman 6-11 1-2 13, Liz Bierman 0-2 0-0 0, Hailey Stewart 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 19-41 3-9 44.

3-point field goals – ICR 4-12 (Gaarde 1-4, Gahan 1-3, Abby Clark 1-4, H. Simpson 0-1, Dillon 1-1), TIP 3-11 (Nash 0-3, Hoffman 2-5, Hatland 1-1, R. Bierman 0-1, L. Bierman 0-1). Rebounds – ICR 22 (L. Simpson, Abby Clark 6), TIP 25 (R. Bierman 8). Turnovers – ICR 20, TIP 27. Total fouls – ICR 11, TIP 12. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – None.

Did you enjoy this subscription free article? Help keep Your Prep Sports free by donating.