NORWALK – C’mon now, admit it: If you were listening to Chris Varney’s call of the Montezuma vs. CAM regional championship game on Energy 106.7, and CAM jumped out to a 14-2 lead during the first quarter, you were hiding under the kitchen table.
I know you’re out by now. And the CAM Cougars aren’t waiting outside for you. They are . . .gone.
The reversal was stunning because of how total it was. The Bravettes outscored CAM 58 to 33, and won the Regional championship, 60-47, after falling behind by a dozen points in the first quarter.
“This game was full of runs – many games are – but we just kept plugging along and never truly got rattled,” Montezuma Coach Janel Burgess said.
That means it’s another berth in the Class 1A state tournament, in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, Feb. 28, in Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.
Montezuma’s versatility in being able to score down low and on three-pointers was crucial. The Bravettes’ depth and athleticism helped by enabling them to put a combination on the court that broke through CAM’s press.
The Bravettes’ ability to run down defensive rebounds on missed CAM treys was important. And so, for that matter was a whole bunch of stuff this still-improving team did.
“We had a great balance within our scoring and our defense locked down after we started to just sprint back,” Burgess said.
Montezuma exactly reversed CAM’s 19-9 first quarter during the secon period, Jadyn Sharer nailed a pair of treys in the last 30 seconds to make it 28-28 at halftime.
CAM scoring leader Eva Steffensen (21.1 ppg), picked up her second personal foul early in the second quarter, and CAM’s offensive pace slowed after she went out.
Sharer had a night she’ll remember forever from behind the arc, leading the Bravettes on an 11-2 run to start the second half and give Montezuma a lead it didn’t give up.
At one point, Sharer had nailed 6 treys in 8 attempts.
The Bravettes led 42-37 after three quarters, then extended its lead by nailing 13-of-16 free throws in the fourth quarter, including 8-for-10 by junior point guard Ellen Cook.
Sharer finished with 20 points for Montezuma. Ellen Cook had 13, and so did post player Shiressa Wetering, who faced a bear trap of an interior defense that was rigged to stop her. She got her 13 points on 4-for-10 from the field and 5-for-six from the line.
The Bravettes had a 37-29 lead in rebounds. Ellen Cook led with 8, while Sharer and Wetering had 7 each.
Ellen Cook had 5 assists and 3 steals.
The Bravettes went 18-for-22 from the free throw line.
Steffensen, CAM’s 21-point scorer, was held to 7 points on 1-for-10 shooting. A 42 percent three-point shooter, she went 0-for-4 from back here.
The rest of the Cougars entered as .215 shooters from behind the arc and went 5-21 without Steffensen’s help.
Meanwhile, Montezuma will tote a 20-4 record to the state finals.
CAM, which started five of its 7 seniors, bows out at 21-3.
UP NEXT – The Bravettes have been seeded eighth and will play #1 seed North Linn (23-1) at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 28 in the state tourney in Des Moines.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
CAM 19 9 9 10 – 47
Montezuma 9 19 14 18 – 60
MONTEZUMA (60) – Ellen Cook 2-9, 8-10, 1, 13. Claire Erselius 2-6, 2-2, 1, 8. Izzy Roorda 0-0, 0-0, 4, 0. Jadyn Sharer 6-11, 2-2, 1, 20. Shiressa Wetering 4-10, 3-6, 2, 13. Vivian Cook 2-11, 1-2, 2, 6. Sydnee Burgess 0-1, 0-0, 1, 0. Jordan Ranfeld 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS – 16-48, 18-22, 12, 50.
CAM (47) – TOTALS – 17-54, 8-10, 19, 47.
Line score legend: field goals made-attempted, free throws made-attempted, personal fouls, total points.
Turnovers: Montezuma 12, CAM 12.
Three-pointers: Montezuma 10-30 (Sharer 6-11, Erselius 2-3, E. Cook 1-6, V. Cook 1-10); CAM 5-25.
Rebounds: Montezuma 37 (E. Cook 8, Sharer 7, Wetering 7, Erselius 5, V. Cook 4, Burgess 3, Ranfeld 2, Roorda 1); CAM 29.
Assists – Montezuma 14 (E. Cook 5, Erselius 3, Sharer 2, Wetering 2, V. Cook 2); CAM 12.
Steals – Montezuma 10 (E. Cook 3, V. Cook 3, Wetering 2, Erselius 1, Roorda 1); CAM 6.
Blocks: Montezuma 1 (Erselius); CAM 3.