No. 7 Notre Dame too much for WACO

BURLINGTON — In a Class 1A Substate 6 Quarterfinal matchup against Southeast Iowa Super Conference South teams WACO and Notre Dame on Tuesday night, it was the Nikes who came out on top.

WACO showed that they weren’t going to bow down, but unblemished No. 7 Notre Dame was just too much, winning 67-28.

The Warriors struggled to get going offensively at the start, as the third and fourth points came from a pair of Ellah Kissel free throws with 31 second left in the quarter.

“They limit shots,” WACO head coach Lisa Graber said. “We don’t get two or three shots off.”

After one quarter, the Nikes had built a 16-4 lead.

In the second quarter, WACO gained some ground. The Warriors began the second, on an 8-2 run to cut the Nikes’ lead to just six, 18-12. Six points is the closest WACO would come for the rest of the bout, as in a matter of minutes Notre Dame spewed in 17 points to WACO’s two by the halftime whistle.

At the break, WACO trailed 35-14.

“Offensively for them, everyone can shoot the ball,” Graber said. “They take care of the ball and they have multiple players that can handle the ball. That makes you a seventh ranked team.”

In the third, Notre Dame didn’t let off the gas. The Nikes rattled off 25 points in the third quarter, as WACO scored just five.

By the start of the fourth quarter, Notre Dame had amassed a 39 point lead, 60-21, all but settling the fixture.

Both teams would go on to tie, 7-7, in the fourth quarter.

Ellah Kissel paced the Warriors with 14 points. Grace Coble finished with six points. Katie Leichty added four. Emma Wagler and Marie Farmer each chipped in two.

The Warriors will lose just two seniors following this season.

“People don’t understand how much they mean to us and how much they helped us,” Graber said. “They were always there at practice and brought a lot of energy. We’ve really enjoyed them.”

WACO ends its season at 10-13.

Graber said she’s proud of the teams improvement.

“A lot of the girls didn’t have any varsity time at all,” she said. “They had to step into a varsity starting position and we improved our record. I think it says a lot of the kids that they’ve worked really really hard for the team to make those improvements. Hopefully that will catapult us into next year.”