ABOVE: Granada-Huntley East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther's Londyn Bowers hunts for an outlet pass Monday night in a Tomahawk-Valley Conference, Valley Division girls basketball game in Granada.

GRANADA – It was a fast start for the offense and the press forcing turnovers early that helped propel the Granada-Huntley East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther Jaguars past the Cleveland Clippers 82-52 in a Tomahawk-Valley Conference, Valley Division girls basketball game Monday night.

“We got some turnovers out of the press,” said Jaguars head coach T.J. Pytleski. “But then I think we did a good job of getting back and then on our half-court defense, I think the girls did a great job of moving around and being present in front of somebody trying to shoot the ball.”

Leading the Jaguars was Keira Benck with 21 points, three rebounds and three assists, while Londyn Bowers had 20 points, eight rebounds and three steals. Harley Geistfeld had 16 points and three steals, while Kayla Mattson had 6 points and three rebounds.

“We tell the girls if you’re open to shoot it,” said Pytleski. “Sometimes we hesitate a little bit too much. I’ll be honest with you, tonight I think the rim was a hula hoop because every 3 we shot just about went in. So, by far our best 3-point shooting night of the season.”

Benck opened the scoring in the first half for the Jaguars by netting a layup and drawing the foul. She made the extra free throw, giving the Jaguars their first lead of the night. As the game rolled on, the Jaguars continued to build on the lead and jumped out to a 12-4 lead. It was consistent rebounding, an aggressive press and forcing turnovers that proved to be extremely disruptive against the Clippers’ starting five. A shot from Donohue found its mark, putting the Jaguars up 23-9. At this point the Jaguars began to find success shooting beyond the arc, with Geistfeld, Mattson, and Bowers all able to hit on 3s, expanding on the lead and going up 34-13. The Clippers managed to get some offense going, but it was not enough to slow down the Jaguars, who found themselves up 46-25 at the half.

The Jaguars kept their foot on the gas headed into the second half, with Benck opening the scoring. The offense stuck to the game plan, driving into the paint and kicking the ball back out to the perimeter if the lane was blocked. This strategy proved to be successful for the Jaguars as Benck and Geistfeld combined for three 3-pointers, expanding the lead to 57-33. It was at the midway point of the second half that the offense opened up the outside shooting and drew defenders out of the lanes. By pulling the defense out of the paint, the Jaguars took the opportunity to drive the lane while Bowers and Mattson kept the outside shooting going. As time dwindled down, Ava Hahn continued to try and cut into the Jaguars’ lead, putting up 8 of the final 12 points for the Clippers, but by then it was too late as the Jaguars rolled to victory.

Now 9-12 overall and 7-4 in conference play, the Jaguars will head to Sleepy Eye for a 7:30 p.m. game on Thursday for the final leg of the regular season.

“We got a tough end of the season,” said Pytleski. “So, it’ll be good for us to play those tougher teams. To be honest with you, I haven’t looked at the seedings at all to see where we would even be. I just try to take it one day at a time, one game at a time.”