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Wildcats moving on
Columbus staves off West Burlington in girls basketball regional quarterfinals
COLUMBUS — If it seems like a fire has been lit under the Columbus girls basketball program this season, that flame was 10 fold at tip off of Tuesday night’s regional quarterfinal showdown with West Burlington.
The Wildcats, aided by 23 first half points, knocked off the Falcons 45-39 in their first postseason game of the year.
“We kind of give them freedom to just get your shot, get your feet set and fire away,” said Columbus head coach Kasey Keltner. “They did.”
The game started out with a flurry of points from junior Ariana Vergara, who soaked West Burlington for 15 points in the first quarter alone. That gave Columbus a 23-6 advantage after the first quarter, and it would prove to be just what the Wildcats needed.
The red-hot start ignited the home crowd, and even seemed to be a surprise to Vergara, who says she didn’t know what got into her during those first eight minutes of play.
“To be honest, no clue,” Vergara said. “One thing I struggle with is confidence and believing in myself, and today seeing how I was shooting in shoot-around, I kind of had my head held high.”
The Wildcats needed the fast start, because West Burlington won the next three quarters. The Falcons had the Columbus lead down to eight points, at 27-19 at the end of the half, and the game was 36-29 after three quarters.
Every time it looked like West Burlington was about to take over, Columbus threw a big punch. Aracely Garza knocked down a 3-pointer to kick off the third quarter and help steal away the Falcons’ momentum, and early in the fourth, Isabel Rendon turned a six-point game into nine with a 3-pointer from the win.
As close as West Burlington came, the Falcons never had the game back within one possession after the early flurry.
“In the beginning, I was nervous,” Vergara said. “As soon as we started to make shots, I kind of was able to settle in. It's a game now, and we have to go finish it.”
Vergara finished the night with 18 points, 11 rebounds and four steals to lead the Wildcats. Garza had 10 points and 13 rebounds. Frannie Sosa scored seven points. Rendon scored five points and dished out five assists. Brittany Garcia had four points, and Madeline Howell chipped in one.
The Wildcats, who had won a total of 15 games in the last five seasons have now won just as many in this year alone. Columbus is now 15-6, a feat the team hadn’t accomplished since 2015.
“These kids are special,” Keltner said. “To go from where we were three years ago, losing games by 30 and running clocks, and now we get a regional win at home. We need to feel really good about this, because things happen because we work hard.”
Columbus will take on No. 13 North Mahaska (18-4) in the regional finals on Friday night. That game will be at North Mahaska, with the winner taking on either No. 5 Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont (21-1) or Wilton (9-13) in the regional final.
“This year has been really amazing,” Vergara said. “I love the group of girls that we're with. I want to keep having this season with them. I'm not ready for it to end, so we're going to go get more.”
