Montezuma Coach Janel Burgess had high praise for Newell-Fonda after the Mustangs beat the Bravettes 73-34 in a Class 1A state semifinal game.
“They are all a bunch of athletes,” Burgess told the Cedar Rapids Gazette. “They’re lanky, 5-9 kids that fit in that system.”
“They’re way faster than any team we’ve ever played,” senior forward Kierstyn Price told the Gazette. “They put all kinds of pressure on you and they try to steal the ball. That’s something we’ve never come against before.”
Well, certainly not to Newell-Fonda’s extent. The Mustangs would be a nightmare to prepare for.
“Montezuma has so many good shooters and we were able to neutralize that,” Newell-Fonda Coach Dick Jungers told the Journal. “I felt like we were able to get to their legs a little bit, and some of the shots that normally fall for them didn’t fall.”
Jungers called Montezuma, “a very good team, but I was very pleased with our defensive intensity and how we made things challenging for them.”
“You can’t get set up,” Burgess told the Sioux City Journal. “You don’t have time to even take a breath in the sense that they are still there.”
“They’re all the same player,” Bravettes senior guard Elise Boulton told the Gazette. “They all can shoot a high percentage. They have basically the same athletic ability and they’re all threats on offense.”
“I think we did all right against the press,” Burgess said. “But they come at you hard in the quarter court game, too.”
Newell-Fonda simply dominated. Check out these point comparisons in various aspects:
Points in the paint: NF 44, Montezuma 10.
Off turnovers: NF 32, Montezuma 6.
Second chance: NF 15, Montezuma 4.
Fast break: NF 24, Montezuma 0.
Bench points: NF 27, Montezuma 6.
Jeff Linder of the Gazette reported that the Bravettes shot .457 from the field for the season, which was sixth-best in all Iowa classes.
But against Newell-Fonda, it was .237. And Montezuma was able to attempt just 38 shots, compared with 67 by the Mustangs.