Ashytn Lagemann (20) walks off the court with her teammates after Clopton's third place finish

Ashytn Lagemann (20) walks off the court with her teammates after Clopton’s third place finish

6’0 sophomore Ashtyn Lagemann scored a double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Clopton Hawks to the third place finish in the Class 2 Girls championships. Clopton overcame an eight point deficit at half and turned it into a 54-41 victory over Cairo.

Cairo was aggressive early in the game, as Marley Winkler forced the ball up the floor quickly and when her shots weren’t open she was able to find her teammates as the Bearcats jumped out to an 11-5 lead, five minutes into the game. Winkler scored six of those points. Clopton battled back to finish the quarter on an 8-2 run to knot it up at 13 after the first.

Cairo’s Jill Nelson hit back to back three’s to start the second quarter to put them up 19-13. Clopton’s size was an issue for the smaller Bearcats. Inside, Clopton blocked four shots and was winning the rebounding battles, but Winkler also hit a three to keep the lead at 26-21 for Cairo with just under two minutes to play in the half. The Hawks were held off the scoreboard the rest of the half and found themselves down 29-21 at the break.

Ashtyn and older sister Lauren Lagemann combined for 24 of Clopton’s 34 points through three quarters, pulling down 14 rebounds between the two of them. That helped the Hawks get it back to a 36-34 game heading into the fourth as Cairo began to tire and their outside shots wouldn’t fall.

Clopton went on a 10-3 run and built their lead to 44-39 with 4:40 to play and never looked back.

Clopton finishes 27-4 while Cairo ends the season 25-7.