Iverson, Castro lead Harvest Christian to win

If Monday night's performance by sophomore Alyssa Iverson in Harvard Christian's season opener is any indication of things to come opposing teams will have a difficult time keying on senior standout Paulina Castro like so many tried to do last year.

While Castro poured in her close to customary game-high 27 points, her backcourt partner Iverson, who averaged just over 7 points as a freshman starter last year, had a breakout game with 22 points as the Lions defeated visiting Rockford Jefferson 62-36 in opening round action of the Harvest Christian Thanksgiving Tournament.

"I thought the girls played fantastic for the first game of the season," Harvest coach Rich Detamble said. "Alyssa was involved with a top quality program over the summer and has improved tremendously. That makes us so much better. Teams won't be able to just focus on Paulina any more."

Usually the opening game of the season consist of some jitters and shaking off the rust. While that may have been the case for Rockford there was none of that for Harvest. The Lions looked in midseason form in the first quarter as Iverson and Castro each dropped in three 3-pointers to help build a 25-9 lead. Harvest connected on 9-of-18 shots in the first quarter and only turned the ball over once.

"I thought we did a real good job of coming out and setting the tempo," Castro said. "We were aggressive on defense and on offense we moved the ball around and got the open shot. Alyssa has really stepped up her game and she played great tonight. It's exciting to think what we can do."

The Lions continued to pull away and led 42-20 at halftime and by as much as 32 points in the second half.

Harvest shot 23-of-45 (52 percent) from the field while holding Rockford to just 15-of-52 (29 percent) shooting. Harvest also forced 36 turnovers.

"I liked the way we were able to change defenses tonight," Detamble said. "Last year we were a little robotic on defense. This year we have a lot more defensive looks. We want to pressure on the other team."

Marian Central 67, Westminster Christian 47: Maddie Versluys had 30 points, 11 rebounds and 3 steals for the Warriors in their season-opening loss at the Harvest Christian tournament. Tess Anderson (7 points) and Emily Lamp (7 rebounds) also contributed.