DES MOINES – Imagine a female rider and her horse in hot pursuit of a beast in the woods, positive they could bag the creature.
Around a bend in the trail they go and . . .LOW BRIDGE! . . Splat! Thud!
After the rider comes to, she feels numb . . .then sore. But she pulls herself together, struggles to her feet and dusts herself off.
Then she goes off looking for the horse.
“That beast is farther ahead of us now. But we can still catch it!” she thinks.
The Bravettes weren’t singing “Happy Trails” after Newell-Fonda’s 73-34 run past them in Friday’s Class 1A semifinals.
It was a great program doing its thing against an emerging great program.
How do we know Montezuma is headed for greatness? By how positive the Bravettes remained in the face of a fundamentally sound onslaught by a small school basketball juggernaut that won its 105th game in its last 107 starts.
The Bravettes kept running their offense. They got tougher on defense as the game went on.
What Newell-Fonda did to them Friday is what the Bravettes already do to most of the teams on their schedule. Next up: The next step, but what happened to them Friday and their positive response to it should only strengthen their resolve.
Newell-Fonda led 28-10 after one quarter, and limited Montezuma to no field goals in the second quarter. The Bravettes made just one in the third period, by the end of which a continuous clock was in effect.
The Mustangs used harassing full-court defense and quick scoring bursts to put away the persistent Bravettes. Montezuma made 24 turnovers, 17 on Mustang steals. Double-teams in the backcourt seemed to come from nowhere, and the Bravettes sometimes found themselves dribbling into traps.
Montezuma beat it back on defense after losing the ball. Still, Newell-Fonda assisted 20 of their 31 baskets.
The Mustangs came in waves, as Coach Dick Jungers used all 15 of his players in repeated “line changes,” like you might see in hockey.
Elise Boulton led the Bravettes with nine points and Kierstyn Price had seven.
Montezuma fared well on the boards, trailing just 36-32 in caroms. Shanae Wetering led with six and Jadyn Sharer had five. Elise Boulton had three assists, half her team’s total.
Four Mustangs reached double figures, led by Bailey Sievers’ 15 points.
The Bravettes shot .237 from the field, on nine-for-38. That included four-for-14 from three-point range. The Mustangs shot .463, on 31-for-67. They were seven-for-31 on treys.
Montezuma never led, but managed to tie the game for 22 seconds. The Mustangs led 5-0 at the start, then Shanae Wetering scored a two-pointer, Montezuma stole the ball, and Elise Boulton’s trey tied it at 5-5.
The win lifted the Mustangs to 25-1, and sent them into Saturday night’s 6:30 championship game against Bishop Garrigan. Newell-Fonda is seeking its third consecutive state championship and fourth overall. The school will be appearing in its ninth state championship game.
Montezuma closed its season at 23-2, having won 23 in a row between its season opener and this final defeat.
COME BACK LATER for official stats and photos!
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Montezuma 10 10 3 11 – 34
Newell-Fonda 28 14 17 14 – 73
MONTEZUMA (34)
Shanae Wetering 1-9, 1-2, 3, 3. Kierstyn Price 2-5, 1-2, 1, 7. Mia Boulton 1-9, 2-2, 1, 5. Elise Boulton 3-6, 1-3, 1, 9. Dylan Holland 1-5, 2-2, 3, 4. Madison Johannes 0-0, 1-1, 0, 1. Jadyn Sharer 0-3, 3-4, 0, 3. Alyssa Cline 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Jordan Ranfeld 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Alivia Cline 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Abby Cheney 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Laila Kercheval 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Kallie Robison 1-1, 0-0, 0, 2. Korrinn Kehoe 0-0, 0-2, 0, 0. TOTALS – 9-38, 12-18, 10, 34.
NEWELL-FONDA (73)
Bailey Sievers 6-9, 2-5, 2, 15. Macy Sievers 6-9, 0-0, 2, 12. Maggie Walker 4-9, 1-1, 1, 11. Ella Larsen 2-5, 0-0, 1, 5. Ellie Lago 1-2, 0-0, 2, 3. Anna Bellcock 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0. Mary Walker 5-11, 1-2, 2, 12. McKenna Sievers 0-1, 0-0, 2, 0. Nevaeh Lyman 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Laney Hogrefe 1-4, 0-1, 3, 2. Kierra Jungers 3-5, 0-0, 2, 6. Isabel Bartek 2-6, 0-0, 0, 4. Audry Kosky 0-1, 0-0, 1, 0. Paige Roberts 1-3, 0-0, 0, 3. Emma Erickson 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS – 31-67, 4-9, 18, 73.
Line score legend: Field goals made-attempted, free throws made-attempted, personal fouls, total points.
Turnovers: NF 8, Montezuma 25.
Three-point goals: NF 7-31 (B. Sievers 1-3, M. Sievers 0-2, Mg. Walker 2-6, Larsen 1-3, Lago 1-2, Bellcock 0-1, Mry. Walker 1-5, McK Sievers 0-1, Jungers 0-1, Bartek 0-3, Kosky 0-1, R
oberts 1-3, Erickson 0-1. Montezuma: 4-14 (Wetering 0-2, Price 1-2, M. Boulton 1-8, E. Boulton 2-2).
Rebounds: NF 36 (B. Sievers 3, M. Sievers 3, Mg. Walker 1, Larsen 8, Lago 2, Mry. Walker 1, McK Sievers 4, Hogrefe 3, Jungers 5, Bartek 2, Kosky 1, Erickson 2, team 2); Montezuma 32 (Wetering 6, Price 1, M. Boulton 4, E. Boulton 3, Holland 5, Johannes 4, Sharer 5, Robison 1, Kehoe 1).
Assists: NF 20 (B. Sievers 4, M. Sievers 6, Mg. Walker 2, Larsen 2, Lago 1, McK Sievers2, Lyman 1, Hogrefe 2); Montezuma 6 (E. Boulton 3, M. Boulton 1, Johannes 2)
Steals: NF 17 (B. Sievers 4, M. Sievers 3, Mg. Walker 1, Larsen 2, Bellcock 1, Mry. Walker 3, Jungers 1, Bartek 1, Erickson 1); Montezuma 4 (Price 2, M. Boulton 1, E. Boulton 1).
Blocks: NF 3 (M. Sievers 1, Hogrefe 1, Jungers 1); Montezuma none.
