Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – With all five starters returning from last season along with several key reserves City High looks very similar to the team it was a year ago.

The Little Hawks may look the same but they are playing with a different level of cohesion than last season.

City High continued its strong start with a 66-42 win over Western Dubuque (0-5) on Tuesday in its Mississippi Valley Conference opener in Iowa City.

“There is just a different level of trust there this year and some of that comes from just playing together,” City High coach Lynsey Barnard said. “It’s not that anything has drastically changed we just have team chemistry now. They really like each other and we are finally now to the point where they know how they play and it’s paying off.”

City High had four players score in double figures and shot 42 percent from the floor on Tuesday while improving to 3-1 with its third consecutive win.

All three wins for the Little Hawks have come by at least 20 points and City High is averaging better than 65 points per game during since a season-opening loss to 4A eighth-ranked Central DeWitt.

“The difference from last year is we share the ball so much better,” City High senior guard August Palmer said. “We know what everyone of us is capable of and we see each other so much better.”

Palmer had a game-high 19 points on Tuesday but the Little Hawks got contributions across the lineup.

Tessa Driscoll had 13 points and sophomore Kaitlin Loria matched her season-high with 13 points.

“When we are at our best is when we are really unselfish and they are actively looking for each other and that’s what it was tonight,” Barnard said. “They trust each other.”

Freshman Eve Vitense came off the bench to hit three 3-pointers on her way to a career-high 11 points.

Sophomores Maybes Miller added five points off the bench.

“It’s really beneficial to have a bunch of bench players ready to go in and shoot the ball and be ready to contribute,” Vitense said. “That’s what I try to do.”

City High led 14-13 after the opening quarter but took control of the game with a 10-0 run midway through the second quarter.

Four different players scored during the 10-0 burst with Vitense and Driscoll hitting 3-pointers in the stretch that pushed the City High lead to 27-15.

“The first game (against DeWitt) we didn’t have everything down but we’ve really improved with our offensive movement since that game,” Vitense said.

City High led 32-21 at the half and broke the game open with a 24-point third quarter.

Palmer had nine of her game-high 19 points in the third quarter as City High pushed the lead to 56-29.

Palmer also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds in the win.

“I know what I am capable of and that’s so much more than just scoring,” Palmer said. “I see my teammates and I can pass the ball really well and I know that they can knock down shots and I trust them so much.”

Western Dubuque             13   8    8   13  –  42

City High                               14  18  24  10  –  66

Western Dubuque (42) – Izzy Rima 0-0 1-2 1, Racquel Fern 0-4 1-4 1, Val Schuster 1-3 0-0 3, Lacey Hoefer 0-2 2-2 2, Mallory Kluesner 3-6 1-1 8, Kaitlyn Thole 6-14 6-9 19, Allie Soppe 2-5 4-6 8, Totals 12-34 15-24 42.

City High (66) – Eve Vitense 4-8 0-0 11, Emani Hardaway 1-2 0-0 2, Maybes Miller 2-4 0-0 5, August Palmer 8-15 3-5 19, Hattie Galloway 0-2 0-0 0, Kaitlin Loria 6-10 1-1 13, Emmy McComas 0-4 1-2 1, Thisbe Lewis 0-1 0-0 0, Halle Larew 0-0 2-2 2, Tessa Driscoll 4-15 2-2 13, Totals 25-61 9-12 66.

3-point field goals – Western Dubuque 3-11 (Fern 0-2, Schuster 1-3, Hoefer 0-1, Kluesner 1-2, Thole 1-3), City High 7-23 (Vitense 3-7, Miller 1-3, Palmer 0-3, Galloway 0-1, Loria 0-1, Driscoll 3-8). Rebounds – Western Dubuque 30 (Thole 12), City High 34 (Palmer 8). Total fouls – Western Dubuque 8, City High 20. Turnovers – Western Dubuque 28, City High 13. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – None.

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