Iowa City Regina girls basketball overcomes injuries to hand Lisbon a 52-20 loss
“Stop being complacent!”
That’s the message Mary Rogers, Regina's girls basketball head coach, voiced to her team after third-quarter mistakes carried over into the fourth quarter. They were without their leading scorer Morgan Miller, but held a 29-point lead at that point.
"We have more growth to happen," Rogers said. "I didn't want them to play out of sync, play out of poise, just because we want to make sure we're growing to be the best team we possibly can be."
And Regina responded.
They limited their second-half mistakes and dominated in a 52-20 win over Lisbon (4-8) on Thursday.
Ella McLaughlin had a team-high 13 points while Alli Clark added 10 points.
"I think that we played really hard all together," Clark said. "It was fun to get ahead and be able to have our whole team play in the game. That's always fun to see."
Regina gained full control in the first quarter
The Regals had their foot on the gas in the opening quarter.
Their tight defense forced turnovers and grabbed rebounds, which resulted in scoring opportunities at the other end.
The Regals' hustle was on full display.
It was evident when Clark snatched a steal, raced toward the end of the court and found Morgan Squiers to extend their double-digit lead.
It was 18-5 within the first eight minutes.
"I think that we do a really great job of once we get the rebound, keep pushing it in transition and Morgan Miller is our point guard and she's really good at looking up and getting the ball up to us once we're up there," Clark said.
Lisbon didn’t have any answers.
An injury forced Alli Clark to step up
Miller, who averages 18.6 points per game, went down late in the second quarter due to a right ankle injury, forcing her out of the game.
"She tweaked the same one a few weeks ago," Rogers said. "I think she'll be perfectly fine, and we have a big one on Saturday coming up so hopefully a day's rest and get her back. She's obviously a vital piece to the program, to our team but we want to play it safe and monitor."
With Miller out, others had to step up and Clark was one of them.
"Alli just does everything for us. She gets all boards, she plays really strong defense, she shed a switch to the one once Miller went out," Rogers said. "She's just such a great leader as a senior. She's really just evolved over the course of her career, and I think it showed tonight in versatility."
Following a low-scoring third quarter, the Regals replicated their first-half success and adjusted.
The Regals (9-2) have scored early wins in 2024, securing back-to-back wins over Burlington Notre Dame and Lisbon. They'll face Monticello (10-1) on Saturday.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Iowa City Regina girls basketball dominates Lisbon in 52-20 win
