In the first half, the two teams saw little separation with the biggest lead being just seven points. For both teams, it was a tale of two halves.

According to BCLUW head coach David Lee, the Comets’ offense had a slow start to the game.

“I thought our kids played hard the entire ball game,” Lee said. “I thought we didn’t make some shots early, we didn’t get some offensive rebounds, we didn’t get some close-up ones back in the basket.”

As for G-R (1-6, 1-3), it was one of the Rebels’ more efficient first halves.

T-R PHOTO BY ANDREW ABADIE

“We were right in the ball game,” G-R head coach Bruce Bailey said. “I thought we were way too passive on offense in the first half. We only got up 26 shots so I said that we have got to be more aggressive offensively. Defense is OK, rebounding is OK, so we just have to see if we can get more shots up and be more aggressive to the basket.”

BCLUW (5-3, 1-2) held a 21-17 halftime lead but from there Ubben took control of the game. Ubben kick-started a 9-3 run that helped the Comets find separation with a 32-20 lead.

Between the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth quarter, Ubben scored 13 consecutive points for BCLUW.

“It was a good ball game,” Lee said. “Madison had a really tough night getting going but boy once she sat out a little bit in the ballgame, I thought she found herself and made wise choices of when to shoot the ball and when to pass the ball. She got on the boards pretty nice. She had a double-double tonight. That’s a nice statement for her.”

Ubben, who was briefly benched due to her slow performance in the first half finished with a team-leading of 19 points and 13 rebounds in the Comet’s win.

T-R PHOTO BY ANDREW ABADIE

“I thought when she came back into the ball game after we took her out a couple of things happened,” Lee said. “She played a little harder and we got the ball to her in better spots. We made an extra pass and got to her to where she could have a clean look at it. She worked hard on the board and got a couple of offensive rebounds back in it and sometimes that helps you when you are struggling offensively.”

While Ubben found offense momentum, G-R was held to just six total second-half points.

“I don’t think [BCLUW] did anything different than they did in the first half,” Bailey said. “Their defense might have been a little more aggressive but for some reason, we just got so passive out there. We had 23 shots in the second half, so less shots. Offensively that’s just not what we are trying to do. Somehow, we have to figure that out. Their defense is ok but we shouldn’t be held to 23 shots and six points.”

According to Lee, the biggest difference his team made was taking away easy shots for G-R.

“We shut down some of those easy shots that they had in the first half. In the first half, we just had to rotate well enough. It was really on their initial offense it was when they got offensive rebounds. We didn’t rack well. I thought we played better in the second half and made it tough for them to get close.”

Gladbrook-Reinbeck will go on the road Friday to face Wapsie Valley.

“[The loss] is very frustrating,” Bailey said. “We played pretty the last few games. We won one, lost a close one, we were right in it at halftime and then all of sudden it just went right down hill from there. I don’t know how to explain it.”

BCLUW will travel and play East Marshall on Friday.

BCLUW 45, Gladbrook-Reinbeck 23

At Reinbeck

BCLUW (5-3, 1-2) — Payton Pekarek 1 0-0 3, Lizzie Garber 1 0-0 2, Allison Engle 1 0-0 2, Betula Messerly 4 0-0 10, Madison Ubben 7 5-6 19, Jade Hammers 0 0-0 0, Chloe Walter 4 1-1 9. TOTALS 18 6-7 45

G-R (1-6, 1-3) — Emma McClintock 1 1-2 4, Belen Ellenberger 3 0-0 7, Mahayla Olson 1 1-2 3, Katie Clark 0 1-2 1, Saari Kuehl 3 0-0 7, Brianna Strohbehn 0 0-0 0, Megan Cooley 0 1-2 1. TOTALS 9 4-8 23.

BCLUW 10 11 11 13 — 45

G-R 6 11 3 3 — 23

3-Point Goals–BCLUW 3 (Messerly 2, Pekarek), G-R 3 (McClintock, Ellenberger, Kuehl). Total Fouls–BCLUW 7, G-R 8. Fouled Out–None.