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Washington Evening Journal
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Raiders’ historic season ends in semis
Wahlert’s Claire Lueken drops 27 points in win for Golden Eagles
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
DES MOINES — From five wins two seasons ago, to 14 last season and a record 24 this year, the best season in the history of the Williamsburg girls basketball program came to an end Thursday.
The Raiders fell to Dubuque Wahlert 52-34 in a Class 3A semifinal at the state basketball tournament at Wells Fargo Arena.
“It’s incredible to think we came from a five win season to being at three losses this season, especially with such a young group,” Raiders senior Carly Rich said.
The Raiders shot 1-13 in the first quarter, and Wahlert’s Claire Lueken got going right away.
The Maryville University commit showed all of her offensive skills in this one, scoring 27 points on 10-18 shooting.
“She’s a tough one to handle,” Williamsburg coach Stephanie Dacey said. “She can score at every level and has such good strength and gets to her spots.”
The Raiders were able to find some offense in the second quarter, shooting 4-of-7 from the field with two threes.
The score got no closer than 23-11, and Wahlert led 29-14 at halftime.
Zoe Allen scored the first points of the second half for the Raiders, but Wahlert quickly extended its lead to 41-16 and led by 22 after three quarters.
The Raiders outscored the Golden Eagles 13-9 in the fourth.
Senior Carly Rich led the Raiders with nine points. Ava Hocker added six and eight total players scored for the Raiders in the loss.
“Today I did not feel we played to our full potential, but that’s the way it goes sometimes,” Rich said. “I’m so grateful for the experience.
“It’s been such an incredible group to go up with, and we evolved so much together.”
Rich will be continuing her basketball career the next four years at Wartburg College.
Wahlert plays Mount Vernon in the 3A championship tonight.
The Raiders’ record season closes at 24-3, but the future looks exciting and bright.
“I’m going to remember this senior class and how they really came together,” Dacey said. “Replacing the senior leadership is going to be tough, but we have a lot coming back. It’s an exciting time.”
Of the Raiders main eight-player rotation, six will return with plenty of experience from this season.
“They’re going to have a lot of winning seasons these next couple years, and they’ll be back here (at state),” said Rich. “We have such incredible young players, and Coach Steph has built this program into something special.”
Dubuque Wahlert 52, Williamsburg 34
Class 3A Semifinal
At Des Moines
Williamsburg (34): Carly Rich 3-11 2-7 9, Zoe Allen 1-6 0-2 2, Makenna Hughes 0-2 0-0 0, Ava Hocker 2-6 1-1 6, Kennedy Skaggs 2-8 0-0 5, Briley Winegarden 0-0 0-0 0, Demi Horvath 0-0 0-0 0, Kylee Suhr 1-3 1-1 3, Channing Becker 2-4 0-0 4, Kiley Allen 0-0 0-0 0, Allkey Gorsh 0-0 0-0 0, Jenna Yearian 0-0 0-0 0, Taylor Sanchez 1-1 0-0 3, Jordyn Skaggs 1-1 0-0 2, Chloe Aossey 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 13-43 4-11 34
Dubuque Wahlert (52): Claire King 3-6 0-0 7, Olivia Donovan 1-8 1-4 3, Carolina Freed 3-5 0-0 7, Ruth Taeber 2-6 0-0 4, Claire Lueken 10-18 4-4 27, Lucy Lueken 1-1 0-0 2, Kayla Wuebker 0-0 0-0 0, Myla Breithaupt 0-0 2-2 2, Celia Scherr 0-0 0-0 0, Ella Kennedy 0-1 0-0 0, Camryn Theisen 0-2 0-0 0, Totals 20-47 7-10 52
Williamsburg...........3 11 7 13—34
Dubuque Wahlert … 14 15 14 9—52
3-points goals — Williamsburg 4-15 (Rich 1-6, Allen 0-1, Hughes 0-1, Hocker 1-1, Skaggs 1-4, Becker 0-1, Sanchez 1-1), Wahlert 5-9 (King 1-1, Freed 1-1, Tauber 0-2, C. Lueken 3-5); Team fouls — Williamsburg 12, Wahlert 9; Fouled out — none; Rebounds — Williamsburg 25 (Hocker 5), Wahlert 38 (Freed 9); Assists — Williamsburg 4 (Hocker 2), Wahlert 15 (Tauber 6); Steals — Williamsburg 5 (Hocker 2), Wahlert 4 (King 2); Turnovers — Williamsburg 13, Wahlert 10
