Girls, Boys Fall To St. Mary's On Opening Night For Basketball

In their season openers Thursday night, both the boys and girls fell for the Cyclones, spoiling the coaching debuts of their new head coaches. 

In the girl's game, coach Karley Jackson and crew struggled to get going early, allowing St. Mary's to jump out to a 32-12 lead at the half, eventually falling 54-35. The second half was a much stronger half for the Cyclones as they matched the Cardinals in scoring, 22-22.

Kinzly Macke and Skye Schroeder led the Cyclone attack with nine and seven points, respectively. As a team, Clearwater-Orchard was able to hit on just 38 percent of their shots, including nothing from three-point range. Macke played a skilled game defensively as well, sneaking away six steals. 

The boy's game was a backwards retelling of the girls, with the boys jumping out to a lead at the break, only to struggle late in the game to allow the Cardinals to take a 53-42 victory. The Cyclones led at halftime, 30-24, but were only able to muster up 12 points in the entire second half. 

Junior Liam Odell was the focus of the Cyclone attack on the night, scoring 12 points on four of nine shooting with all four of those baskets coming from three-point range. A possible explanation for the second half struggles was the team's inability to find the bottom of the net, as Clearwater-Orchard got just 37 percent of their shots to fall. 

Travis Kerkman was strong under the net for the Cyclones, racking up eight rebounds on the night. 

The Cyclones will look to for their first wins of the year Friday night when they host Chambers/Wheeler Central in Clearwater.