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Washington Evening Journal
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Williamsburg’s defense leads way to second straight girls state basketball tournament
Raiders forced 23 Tipton turnovers, committed only five
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
WILLIAMSBURG — Physically dominant from start to finish. That describes the Raiders Saturday.
Williamsburg’s defense and athleticism led the charge in a 45-28 win over Tipton in a Class 3A regional girls basketball final, advancing the Raiders to the state tournament for the second consecutive season.
The numbers speak for themselves.
The Raiders amassed 18 steals and forced 23 total turnovers with their defensive pressure, committing just five of their own the entire game.
“We’re such an aggressive team,” senior Zoe Allen said. “We’re all athletes and fast, tall and long.”
Williamsburg led 11-4 after a quarter.
Tipton scored the first two baskets of the second and cut the deficit to 13-10, but that was the closest the Tigers would get the rest of the way.
Taylor Sanchez connected on two three-pointers, and Channing Becker hit one of her team-high three in the second to extend the lead to 23-12 at halftime.
“We were able to shoot the ball and move it so well that it created open shots for all of us,” Allen said. “Going into the game we knew there would be some extra posts guarding me, but we were ready for it.”
The paint opened up more in the second half, as Allen scored 10 of her game-high 17 points in the final two quarters.
“We have great shooters, and it allowed me to have open space in the lane,” Allen said.
The Raiders extended the lead to 19 after three, leading 36-17.
Tipton had one last spurt to cut the lead to 14 in the fourth, but Becker countered that with another three, putting the game at its final score.
Of the Raiders’ 18 steals, Kylee Suhr totaled six, and Becker had five. Every player made an impact defensively in the collective team effort.
“All of our girls were elite defensively in the way we rotated and worked together,” Williamsburg coach Stephanie Dacey said. “We don’t necessarily have all basketball players. We have tremendous competitors that know how to win and are great leaders.”
The Tigers were led by 10 points from Jordyn Schmidt, who closed the season 21-3.
Coming off their best season in program history, the Raiders (20-5) knew they had the potential to get back to this very point.
“I don’t think words can explain how proud I am of this team,” Allen said. “We had no doubt in our mind coming into the season that we could make it back to the state tournament. We wanted this and worked so hard.”
Williamsburg will get a rematch with Dubuque Wahlert (18-5), the team that eliminated them in the state semifinals last season, in their quarterfinal matchup.
The game is set for Monday, March 2 with a 6:45 p.m. tip from the Casey’s Center in Des Moines.
Williamsburg 45, Tipton 28
Class 3A Regional Final, at Williamsburg
TIPTON (28): Ella Hein 1-4 0-0 2, Averie Bolger 1-9 0-0 2, Paityn Daedlow 1-7 4-5 6, Zoe Holstein 1-2 2-2 4, Jordyn Schmidt 4-7 2-4 10, Zane Ehler 2-4 0-1 5, Lakyn Noard 0-0 0-0 0, Ayla Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Paige Thomas 0-0 0-0 0, Averi Jeffries 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 10-33 8-12 28.
WILLIAMSBURG (45): Channing Becker 4-9 0-0 11, Zoe Allen 8-15 0-1 17, Ava Hocker 1-8 0-2 2, Taylor Sanchez 2-5 0-0 6, Kennedy Skaggs 2-9 2-2 7, Kyle Suhr 0-6 1-2 1, Tenley Sanchez 0-2 1-2 1. Totals 17-54 4-9 45.
Tipton 4 8 5 11 — 28
Williamsburg 11 12 13 9 — 45
3-point goals: Tipton 0-13 (Hein 0-2, Bolger 0-7, Daedlow 0-4), Williamsburg 7-21 (Becker 3-5, Allen 1-2, Hocker 0-3, Tay. Sanchez 2-4, Skaggs 1-5, Ten. Sanchez 0-2). Team fouls: Tipton 13, Williamsburg 18. Fouled out: Tay. Sanchez. Rebounds: Tipton 36 (Ehler 12), Williamsburg 30 (Allen 7). Assists: Tipton 2 (Bolger, Schmidt), Williamsburg 10 (Hocker 4). Steals: Tipton 1 (Daedlow), Williamsburg 18 (Suhr 6). Turnovers: Tipton 23, Williamsburg 5.
