The Atlantic girls took on their first conference opponent on Tuesday–Denison-Schleswig–in a non-conference game. The Monarchs were ranked 14th in class 4A by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union’s preseason poll. This matchup was the first of the season for the opposition, while Atlantic had played the night prior against a much-improved Carroll group.

To kick off the night, the two JV teams competed. After a lengthy game, it was Atlantic on top 39-37.

Following JV’s triumph, the varsity squads took the floor. During the Carroll game, senior Alyssa Ginther was thrown to the floor by a Carroll player, resulting in a concussion. Ginther is a regular starter for the Trojans. Due to her concussion, she was unable to start, or play, for Atlantic.

With Ginther out, junior Corri Pelzer got her first ever start with the varsity team. Other starters included seniors Baylee Newell and Heidi Williams, junior Kenzie Waters, and sophomore Haley Rasmussen.

In the beginning of the first quarter, the two teams were neck and neck, with Denison-Schleswig always one step ahead. With 2:38 left in the first quarter, Atlantic called a timeout following a 6-0 run by the Monarchs. Coming out of the timeout, Denison-Schleswig made two more field goals. At the end of the first quarter, the Monarchs led the Trojans 16-4.

The Trojans were the victim of Denison-Schleswig’s zone defense. This caused Atlantic to give up many offensive rebounds. The Monarchs were also able to get their hands on the ball, which resulted in many Trojan turnovers going into the second half. At halftime, Denison was in front 35-10.

Straight from the locker room, Rasmussen hit a three to make the score 35-13 in the beginning of the second half. In the third and fourth quarters, Atlantic nearly matched Denison-Schleswig score-wise. Instead of getting down on themselves and allowing their game to fall apart, the Trojans battled on. They put up their best numbers in the second half, with 13 points in the third quarter, and 11 points in the fourth quarter.

However, this wasn’t enough to stop the Monarchs, who had used their early first-half runs to help them secure the win 66-35. Atlantic was led by Rasmussen, who put up 16 points. Newell contributed to the Trojan’s second-half rally by slating eight points, all of which occurred after halftime. In her first start, Pelzer made a field goal and grabbed six total rebounds.

The Trojans will host Denison-Schleswig on Friday, Jan. 4, 2019 in a rematch. Next up for the Trojan girls is a scrimmage against ACGC on Tuesday at AHS.