Wolves knocked out in quarters

DES MOINES — The Winfield-Mount Union girls basketball team made its triumphant return to Des Moines on Wednesday as Wells Fargo Arena welcomed the Wolves in for the Class 1A state quarterfinals.

The night didn’t quite go as planned for WMU, as the sixth-seeded Wolves were done in by a hot-shooting No. 3 North Linn team.

The Wolves did get off to a hot start. WMU scored first on an early bucket by Melina Oepping, and a dominant start for her and fellow forward Bradie Buffington sparked a 10-6 lead five minutes into the game.

“I thought it was going to be a lot different playing at the Well, but we came out and we played our game,” said Buffington. “The nerves went away right after those first two points.

North Linn’s Kamryn Kurt ended what was a 6-0 Wolves run with a deep 3-pointer, one that would foreshadow a big day for the Lynx from beyond the arc. That sparked a run that would lead to a 14-12 North Linn advantage after one quarter.

In the second period, the Lynx began to rattled the Wolves with their full-court pressure defense. A handful of WMU turnovers helped North Linn stretch its lead to double-digits, and despite 11 first-half points from Oepping and eight from Buffington, the Wolves trailed 33-21 at halftime.

“They had amazing pressure,” said Oepping. “They were up on us, and they didn't give us anything.”

WMU settled down in the third quarter, but it was still quite the challenge to keep up with the speedy and undersized Lynx. North Linn continued to rely on outside shots and pressure defense, and the Wolves still couldn’t get the game back down to single digits.

“We knew going into the season that we didn’t have a lot of size, but we had a lot of quick athletes,” said North Linn head coach Jared Collum. “As we went through the preseason, we saw that we had a lot of girls that can contribute.”

Despite all that, WMU found itself still in the game, trailing just 42-39 after three quarters, but the fourth would see North Linn’s defense begin to wear on the Wolves, as the Lynx kept the pressure up and outscored WMU 26-7 in the final eight minutes.

“It's tough to guard a team that has such good shooters, but we tried out best,” said WMU head coach Mendy McCreight. “They gave it their all. That's all I can ask for.”

By the end of the night, North Linn had hit nine of their 20 3-point attempts. The Lynx, who will take on Newell-Fonda in the semifinals, had 11 different players score in the game.

On the other side, WMU scored all their points in the paint or at the free-throw line. Oepping led the way with a double-double, going for 18 points and 10 rebounds in her final high school game.

“My entire life I've been wearing this uniform,” Oepping said. “I'm glad this is the last one I'm going to put on, if I'm being honest. I wouldn't have it any other way.”

Buffington nearly had a double-double herself, finishing with 10 points and nine rebounds. Keetyn Townsley scored four points. Josie Nelson and Madisen Kellogg each had two.

“We've always wanted to come here since freshman year,” Buffington said. “Stepping on the court was a big step for us.”

Keely Malone didn’t score on the day, but did pull down four rebounds. Anna Anderson, Pacey Schlee and Afton Wilkerson each had one rebound in the loss. Others to see the state tournament floor included Aurey Meeker, Mariana Hagmeier, Maggie Hutton and Kaelyn Townsley.

“It's been quite an experience,” said McCreight. “We have a lot of good memories, and we're never going to forget it. That's what counts is just going out there, knowing that you played hard, and just the team bonding we developed. It's been great.”

The Wolves finished the season 22-2 in their first year under Coach McCreight. WMU won the North Division and made its first state tournament since 1998, when McCreight was just a freshman at the school.

An emotional head coach fought back tears as she reflected on a historic season for WMU basketball.

“It's been so enjoyable,” McCreight said. “In all my years of coaching, I've never seen such great leaders and role models from my seniors. All of them, freshman on up, work so hard. We laugh. We joke. We have a great time. It's just been a great atmosphere.”

The Wolves will lose its entire starting lineup to graduation. The list includes Oepping, Buffington, Keetyn Townsley, Anderson and Malone.

“We worked really hard on and off the court, as a team,” Buffington said. “We always had this goal together. We worked hard and never gave up.”