IOWA CITY – Hurry! Hurry! Step right up!
No, it wasn’t the circus. It was better.
It was the Montezuma Bravettes, doing what was needed – and more – to win a basketball game.
Springville jumped out to an early lead in the regional championship game: 7-0 at the start, 16-7 later in the first quarter
A time-out grounded the butterflies, and the Bravettes started doing the things that led to their 77-57 victory Wednesday, Feb. 26, and a third-in-a-row trip to the state tournament.
“The team played with such grit and composure tonight, which was led by our seniors,” said Bravettes Coach Janel Burgess. “Our seniors stepped up in big ways and our young players followed.”
Senior Carissa Van Zee came off the bench and produced five points to help stop Springville’s first quarter charge.
The defense started to tighten, making it harder for the Orioles to get uncontested shots.
Then, in the closing seconds of the quarter, guard Elise Boulton hit a buzzer-beating trey from between the circles to cut Montezuma’s deficit to one at the break, 20-19.
“Elise just rose above the defense – got the shot away before they got to her,” Burgess said.
That was part of a 23-4 Montezuma run that led to a 43-27 lead at halftime.
But this one wasn’t over. Sophomore guard Morgan Nachazel found the range from outside and led a 20-3 run by Springville. Her two free throws put the Orioles up 46-45 with two minutes left in the third quarter.
But the Bravettes countered with their biggest offensive blast of the game.
Elise Boulton and Maddy McKeag hit back-to-back threes and Montezuma took a 52-49 lead into the fourth quarter.
The same two did the same thing to start the fourth quarter. Now it was 58-49.
Que up senior Shelby Conger. She hadn’t scored through three quarters. But now, she dropped in a trey and a total of 11 points during a 25-8 Bravettes fourth quarter.
Montezuma made free throws late, and throughout, really. Shateah Wetering (team-high 20 points), went 10-for-10 from the line.
“It was girls stepping up, doing the little things that add up,” Burgess said. “50-50 balls? We had them covered,” said the coach.
After Springville got the lead in the third quarter, “I was proud of our composure,” Burgess said. “We didn’t bat an eye. We just went right on. Shateah and Elise did their thing, but others were stepping up in every conceivable way.”
Wetering led with 20 points and added four assists, three steals and six rebounds.
McKeag went six-of-nine from behind the three-point arc. “And she played great defense,” Burgess said. McKeag tied Shateah Wetering for the team lead in rebounds with six. She also had two deflections and a steal.
Elise Boulton scored 12 as four Bravettes scored in double figures. Elise was four-for-eight on three-balls. She had four assists, three rebounds, three steals and a deflection.
Conger had her fourth quarter 11 points, which included a trey. She had two assists, a steal and a deflection, and helped to make times tough for the Springville offense.
Shanae Wetering hit a trey, got out in front of a fast break and scored five points.
Freshman Mia Boulton dropped in two treys for six.
Forward Dylan Holland had three rebounds and two deflections.
Montezuma shot .510 from the field, which included 14-for-26 from three-point range. Springville shot .477 from the field, but shot seven fewer times. The Orioles had 11 turnovers, to just four by Montezuma. Springville was 9-for-19 from beyond the arc.
“Our fans were also AMAZING!” Burgess said. “Thank you to each and every fan who cheered in person and from home. We sure appreciate you all!”
“There is one feeling that never changes and that is the excitement of a team knowing they get to play at The Well for the Iowa Girls Basketball State Tournament,” said Burgess.
UP NEXT – Montezuma, the number four seed, plays #5 Saint Ansgar at 3:15 p.m. on Wednesday, March 4, in Wells Fargo Arena.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Springville 20 7 22 8 – 57
Montezuma 19 24 9 25 – 77
MONTEZUMA (77) – Maddy McKeag 6-9, 0-1, 1, 18. Shanae Wetering 205, 0-0, 0, 5. Mia Boulton 2-3, 0-0, 2, 6. Shateah Wetering 5-12, 10-10, 1, 20. Elise Boulton 4-10, 0-0, 1, 12. Carissa Van Zee 2-3, 1-2, 1, 5. Shelby Conger 5-8, 0-0, 2, 11. Dylan Holland 0-1, 0-0, 2, 0. TOTAL – 25-51, 11-13, 9, 77.
SPRINGVILLE (57)
TOTALS – 21-44, 6-9, 15, 5
Line score legend: Field goals made-attempted, free throws made-attempted, personal fouls, total points.
Turnovers: Montezuma 4, Springville 11.
Rebounds: Montezuma 26 (McKeag 6, Shat. Wetering 6, E. Boulton 3, Holland 3, M. Boulton 2, Conger 2, Shan. Wetering 1, Van Zee 1, team 2); Springville 23
Three-point goals: Montezuma 14-26 (McKeag 6-9, E. Boulton 4-8, M. Boulton 2-3, Conger 1-2, Shan. Wetering 1-1, Shat. Wetering 0-3); Springville 9-19.
Assists: Shat. Wetering 4, E. Boulton 4, M. Boulton 2, Conger 2, McKeag 1.
Steals: Shat. Wetering 3, E. Boulton 3, M. Boulton 2, Conger 1, McKeag 1.
Deflections: McKeag 2, Holland 2, Shan. Wetering 1, E. Boulton 1, Van Zee 1, Conger 1.
Blocks: none.
