DES MOINES – That last, endless trek from the Wells Fargo Arena playing floor back to the dressing room must have felt like a forced march across burning desert sand to the Montezuma Bravettes.
Saint Ansgar had out-defended them and out-rebounded them.
Not by much.
But the Saints scored enough points along the way to take 51-46 win Wednesday, March 4, in the first round of the Class 1A state quarterfinals.
The Bravettes left their energy on the court, along with a lot of tears.
How are you supposed to feel when the end comes? Empty, Fried? Drained?
All of the above?
Notice I said you . . .and I, for that matter. But expect the Montezuma girls to bounce back. Tradition never graduates!
The game was a battle start to near the finish. The lead changed nine times. The score was tied three times.
Montezuma led for 21:33 of the 32 minutes. Saint Ansgar led for 7:24. The game was tied for 3:03.
One key for Saint Ansgar was a defense that was quick out front and entangling on the wings and inside. It didn’t allow Montezuma to establish a rhythm on offense for very long.
Another item was the Saints’ relentless rebounding, which got stronger as the game went on.
Still another: Saint Ansgar outscored the Bravettes 18-11 on points off turnovers and 13-7 on second chance points.
Montezuma hit three early three-pointers and jumped out to a 14-4 first quarter lead, the largest margin by either team.
But at that point, the Saints extended their defense and put more pressure on Montezuma’s shooters. Their length also allowed them to clog the interior passing lanes on the Bravettes.
The Bravettes made just one basket in 14 attempts the rest of the half after that early 14-4 lead. Saint Ansgar outscored Montezuma 14-4 to close out the half, which ended with the teams tied at 18-18.
Battles raged in this noisy war during a back-and-forth second half.
Shateah Wetering got going again, producing 11 more points, most off quick drives. Shelby Conger, who had made four three-pointers all season, dropped in three in this game, the last one coming with 50 seconds left to play and cutting Saint Ansgar’s lead to 46-44.
But the Saints made five-of-six free throws over the closing seconds to pull away. Saint Ansgar, which had shot free throws at just a .589 rate on the season coming in, went 15-for-17 (.880) in this key game.
Guard Hali Anderson, a 5-6 junior, was a menace on defense for Saint Ansgar. She shadowed Elise Boulton, making shots and entry passes difficult.
The Bravettes had a 19-15 edge in rebounds at halftime and had limited Brooklyn Hackbart, one of Class 1A’s best board people, to two. But Hackbart grabbed eight in the second half and Saint Ansgar had a 20-11 rebound edge after intermission.
Montezuma also had a poor shooting game. The Bravettes shot .309 from the field, including .296 from three-point range. Saint Ansgar, which is not a three-point shooting team (0-for-5), shot .419 from the field.
Wetering’s 22 came on 9-for-25 shooting. She also led the Bravettes with eight rebounds, four assists and four steals and blocked two shots.
Conger scored nine with her trio of treys and added six rebounds and an assist. Elise Boulton scored nine, hitting three-of-nine from behind the arc. She had four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Gracie Urbatsch scored 15 points for Saint Ansgar, while Anderson had 13, as did Hackbart. Madison Hillman, a 6-foot freshman, scored eight and grabbed nine rebounds.
Saint Ansgar, which hadn’t appeared in the state tournament in 19 years, moved on to the semifnals with a record of 22-2.
The Bravettes closed another successful season at 23-2.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Saint Ansgar 10 8 11 22 – 51
Montezuma 14 4 14 14 – 46
SAINT ANSGAR (51) – Hannah Patterson 0-2, 0-0, 0, 0. Hali Anderson 4-12, 5-6, 1, 13. Gracie Urbatsch 5-11, 5-5, 2, 15. Brooklyn Hackbart 5-8, 3-4, 2, 13. Madison Hillman 3-9, 2-2, 3, 8. Lauren Bork 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Megan Gooder 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Maggie Davis 1-1, 0-0, 0, 2. Adriana Kruse 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS – 18-43, 15-17, 8, 51.
MONTEZUMA (46) – Maddy McKeag 0-4, 0-0, 3, 0. Shateah Wetering 9-25, 2-3, 3, 22. Elise Boulton 3-11, 0-0, 1, 9. Shelby Conger 3-6, 0-0, 1, 9. Dylan Holland 1-2, 0-0, 2, 2. Shanae Wetering 1-3, 2-2, 3, 4. Mia Boulton 0-1, 0-0, 3, 0. Carissa Van Zee 0-3, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS – 17-55, 4-5, 16, 46.
Line score legend: Field goals made-attempted, free throws made-attempted, personal fouls, total points.
Turnovers: Saint Ansgar 15, Montezuma 14.
Rebounds: Saint Ansgar 35 (Hackbart 10, Hillman 9, Urbatsch 7, Anderson 3, Gooder 1, Davis 1, team 4); Montezuma 30 (Shat. Wetering 8, Conger 6, E. Boulton 4, Holland 4, M. Boulton 4, Van Zee 1, team 3).
Three-point goals: Saint Ansgar 0-5 (Anderson 0-2, Hackbart 0-2, Patterson 0-1); Montezuma 8-27 (Conger 3-5, E. Boulton 3-9, Shat. Wetering 2-6, Shan. Wetering 0-2, M. Boulton 0-1, McKeag 0-4).
Assists: Saint Ansgar 6 (Anderson 4, Patterson 1, Gooder 1); Montezuma 8 (Shat. Wetering 4, E. Boulton 2, McKeag 1, Conger 1).
Blocks: Saint Ansgar 4 (Hillman 3, Hackbart 1); Montezuma 2 (Shat. Wetering 2).
Steals: Saint Ansgar 9 (Anderson 4, Urbatsch 2, Gooder 2, Hackbart 1); Montezuma 10 (Shat. Wetering 4, E. Boulton 2, M. Boulton 2, Holland 1, Shan. Wetering 1).