Metro Sports Report

Cedar Valley girls bumped from playoffs

LONE TREE - It took a special defense to knock the special girls from Cedar Valley Christian out out of the Class 1A regional basketball tournament Tuesday night.

The Lisbon Lions put a tourniquet on Cedar Valley star Shelby Hembera in the second half and clipped the Huskies, 39-32, in the second round of the tournament at Lone Tree.

Hembera led all Class 1A players in the state heading into Tuesday's game with a 22.4 scoring average, but she did not make a basket in the second half against Lisbon and finished with 14 points.

The Lions used several versions of a box-and-one defense against Hembera, with two or three defenders in her face all night.

Hembera saw these types of special defenses before, of course. "Almost every game," she said. "It's really difficult, but it opens everybody else up."

Jefferson boys take care of Prairie

Maybe it’s because several of the players competed against each other for years in AAU ball, but the boys game Tuesday night between Jefferson and Prairie seemed more like something you’d see at the Salvation Army gym.

The refs, for the most part, let them play without too much concern about fouls. There were quite a few wayward passes and loose balls on the court. And, as is so often the case in kids’ league contests, a few key players scored most of the points while the rest looked on.

In a matchup of two struggling teams trying to bounce back for postseason play, the J-Hawks prevailed 58-45 at Jefferson.

Clark lifts streaking Warriors past City High

IOWA CITY - Sometimes an unlikely hero can appear out of nowhere to propel a team to victory.

On Tuesday night, Washington received its improbable heroics from Heath Clark.

Late in the fourth quarter, Clark came off the bench and netted eight quick points, propelling the Warriors past Iowa City High, 59-48, at the City High gym.

The win was the Warriors' fifth straight.

Cedar Falls charity tosses trip Kennedy

A battling Kennedy team dropped a hard fought Mississippi Valley Conference matchup with Cedar Falls at home Tuesday night by a score of 59-49.

When the smoke had cleared, the difference in the game was very clear. Cedar Falls made 29 of 37 free throws and Kennedy made just 3 of 6.

While the Cougars outscored Cedar Falls from the field with 22 field goals and 43 points to 13 field goals and 30 points, it was not enough to overcome the free throw disparity.