Published: January 07, 2009 09:26 am      

River Queens play ‘too nice’ in loss

Coach looks for grittier play from Clinton

CLINTON — Nice guys finish last.

The old adage is ringing true for Jason McEwen and his Clinton River Queens basketball team. The River Queens dropped a 40-24 decision to North Scott on Tuesday and McEwen blamed his teams’ passive approach on the offensive end of the court.

“I told the girls that we’re too nice,” McEwen said. “We’ve got a group of nice girls, but we’ve just got to learn how to fight and compete.”

Coming off last Friday’s hard-fought loss to Davenport West, McEwen had hoped his team would show that same fire against the Lancers.

“We competed against West. West was by far our best game of the year,” McEwen said. “Tonight was a different story. We were very non-aggressive.”

Illustrating his point was an 8-minute, 17-second span from the second quarter to the third when the River Queens were held scoreless. A 19-14 North Scott lead grew to 26-14 over that time before Clinton broke the draught with a pair of free throws from junior Sarah Massey (four points).

Some stellar defensive play by the River Queens was over-shadowed by their lack of scoring punch. The team’s lone senior, Sarah Wenzel, led Clinton with a game-high 13 points. No other River Queen scored more than four points.

“I think Sarah has done a good job,” McEwen said of Wenzel’s recent play. “She’s doing what she can, but you can’t win with one player.”

North Scott built a 15-8 lead in the first quarter behind seven points from Olivia Strojohann (nine points). The Lancers’ aggressive defense made the going tough for the River Queens.

“Tonight when we went to the hoop, they were there,” McEwen recalled. “They did a good job of defending. We had success against West, but tonight the lanes weren’t there. They are tough girls.”

In the second quarter, Clinton closed the gap to 17-13 after Wenzel went on a personal five-point run. Steals and layups by Wenzel on consecutive North Scott possessions culminated in a three-point play with 3:33 left in the half. A free throw by Ebony Jackson (three points) moments later was the last scoring Clinton had until well into the second half. The first half ended with the Lancers holding a 21-14 lead.

North Scott scored the first five points of the second half to take a 26-14 advantage. The River Queens failed to mount a rally in the late going, and the Lancers put the finishing touches on the victory.

McEwen said he was hoping his team could find the mean streak needed to compete in the rugged Mississippi Athletic Conference.

“We’re trying to teach them how to be aggressive,” McEwen said. “I told them it’s OK to be mean, it’s OK to be tough. I told them that when they walk off the floor, you can be a nice person again.”

With the disappointing loss behind them, the River Queens hope to bounce back at Davenport North on Friday. Tuesday, the Wildcats defeated Muscatine by a 67-45 score.

“Now we’ve got North on Friday,” McEwen said. “It could get us back on track or it could put us farther in the depths. We’ve got to come out strong. They are going to press us and be in our face. We need to be ready.”

The River Queens are

2-7, 1-5 in MAC play. The Lancers improved to 4-4, 3-2 in the league.

Score by quarters

North Scott 15 6 8 11 — 40

Clinton 8 6 2 8 — 24

NORTH SCOTT (4-3, 3-2 MAC) — Janis Matthys 1 0-0 2, Ashley Dexter 2 7-13 11, Taylor Bender 2 0-0 4, Jamsie Charles 0 0-0 0, Olivia Strojohann 4 0-0 9, Ali Hawley 0 0-0 0, Stephanie Schmidt 1 0-0 2, Carrie Kilen 0 0-0 0, Jenna Gerard 0 0-0 0, Victoria Hawley 1 0-0 2, Holly Nelson 2 0-0 4, Mallory Hoffmann 3 0-0 6, Kaitlin Heinen 0 0-0 0, Kelsey Ericksen 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 7-14 40.

CLINTON (2-7, 1-5) — Courtney Camp 2 0-0 4, Emily Schuetzle 0 0-0 0, Ebony Jackson 1 1-3 3, Sarah Massey 1 2-2 4, Sarah Wenzel 5 1-4 13, Mallory Voss 0 0-0 0, Paige Timion 0 0-0 0, Kelsee Griswold 0 0-0 0, Hope Rallie 0 0-0 0. Totals 8 4-11 24.

3-point goals—North Scott 1 (Strojohann 1); Clinton 2 (Wenzel 2). Total fouls—North Scott 13, Clinton 15. Fouled out—None.