Hawks end season in state quarterfinals

Today?s coverage of the Mid-Prairie girls? state basketball appearance is brought to you by Pierce Auto Body and the Capper Auto Group.

They looked primed for the upset, but the basket had other ideas.

After leading at halftime, the Mid-Prairie girls? basketball team just couldn?t get a shot to fall in the third quarter.

That stretch allowed Center Point-Urbana to take the lead and they wouldn?t relinquish it, claiming a 48-43 victory over the Hawks in the state quarterfinal, and ending their season.

?It was a lid just on the basket,? Rath said. ?We didn?t do a good job rebounding that quarter at all.?

In the fourth quarter, Mid-Prairie senior Alex Rath did her part to avoid the season-ending loss, scoring nine of her team-high 17 points in the frame, but the Hawks fell short.

After the game, Rath said the season, which saw a seven-game win streak propel the Hawks to state and finish 16-9, has been incredible.

?It?s been fun,? Rath said. ?This is probably the best team I?ve been on for basketball, and being part of this atmosphere is a great experience to have."

Mid-Prairie opened the game with a quick bucket from junior Ali Butters, but a 10-2 run from CPU put the Hornets in front by five, 12-7.

An Ally Wertz 3-pointer pushed the Hawks closer before the end of the first, and another quick bucket to open the second quarter quickly tied up the game.

The Hawks used that momentum to go on a 10-0 run, going up on CPU 20-14, and leading by as many as 24-17 in the second quarter.

?Mid-Prairie got us rushed in the first half, and give them credit for doing that,? Center Point-Urbana head coach Philip Klett said. ?Offensively, they weren?t letting us get the ball in there and we gave up some easy buckets inside.?

Butters scored 10 of her 12 points in the first half, and credited the late run to the team?s work together.

?We were playing as a team and passing the ball around,? Butters said. ?We were playing really solid on defense and we wanted to avoid penetration. We played solid on defense.?

The run came to an end before the half, as CPU went on a 6-2 run to go into the break down 26-23.

Center Point carried that stretch into the second half, going on an 8-2 run to open up a 31-28 lead over Mid-Prairie.

Mid-Prairie didn?t put in a field goal all third quarter as the Hawks ended up being outscored 12-5 in the frame.

?I thought they handled (the atmosphere) awesomely,? Mid-Prairie head coach Stephen Bender said. ?They were prepared and I thought we were the better team in the first half. Then we missed some shots and couldn?t get rebounds. Offensive rebounds hurt us. We needed to do a better job of boxing out.?

After the third, something different got into Mid-Prairie, as they opened the first five seconds with Rath notching a bucket and a foul. Despite missing the free throw, momentum appeared to be on the Hawks' side.

After a CPU 3-pointer, Mid-Prairie trimmed the lead to three points after Rath buried a 3-pointer but CPU put on the breaks.

Two long possessions drained the clock, and despite both ending in turnovers, Mid-Prairie couldn?t capitalize.

After a third possession ended in a turnover, Rath picked up a layup in transition making it 44-41.

CPU answered with a layup on the other end and Mid-Prairie couldn?t recover, falling in the state quarterfinal.

Mid-Prairie will graduate three seniors from this season?s team and the entire team can quickly appreciate the season they had.

?It will probably be my favorite season,? Butters said. ?We were almost .500, and an eight-game winning streak brought us to state. It?s been a dream come true. Even though we lost, it was a great season.?