Hawkettes Fall Short in Regional Semis

LOSE BY 4 POINTS TO RCL IN JEFFERSON

East Greene came close to playing for a berth in the state tournament, but a valiant effort against Rockwell City-Lytton came up short, 36-32, in a regional semifinals game in Jefferson on Friday, Feb. 19. The Hawkettes ended the season at 10-13 while RCL advanced to the Region 3 championship game against Lynnville-Sully in Ames.

The Hawkettes had advanced to the regional semifinal matchup after disposing of Glidden-Ralston in Glidden on Tuesday, 36-19 in the quarterfinal while RCL had upset Northeast Hamilton, ranked 12th in the state, 49-47, in Rockwell City. Northeast Hamilton came into the game with a 20-2 record and co-champions of the Iowa Star Conference.

The Hawkettes took command early in Glidden and were up 10-4 and 19-11 at the quarter and half breaks. EG poured it on in the third period, holding the Wildcats to just 2 points, and putting the game out of reach with a 32-13 lead at the end of the period. EG rested its starters the rest of the way in preparation for Friday’s game against RCL.

Malarie Gilley and Molly Neese proved to a formidable 1-2 punch for the Hawkettes. Gilley had 15 points, 9 rebounds, 7 blocks and 3 steals, and Neese had 11 points, 8 rebounds and 2 steals. Jessie Beaman added 6 points, and Tia Lowe and Katlynn Gannon each added 2.

The game was a defensive battle as evidenced by EG’s 24 turnovers and the 26 miscues by GR. Key to the Hawkettes defensive attack were Beaman’s 7 rebounds and 5 steals and Lowe’s 6 rebounds and 6 steals. The Hawkettes outrebounded GR 35-20 while limiting the Wildcats to just 8 of 46 field goals, a very chilly 17%. GR connected on 1 of 6 three-point attempts and was just 2-7 at the free throw line for 29%.

EG was good on 15 of 40 two-point shots for 38% and misfired on two three-point shots. The Hawkettes had some trouble at the free-throw line, dropping just 6 of 18 attempts, for 33%.

The semifinal game was originally scheduled to be played in Boone, but then was moved to Gilbert, and then when it became clear that Rockwell City and Grand Junction are at a considerable distance from Gilbert, the IGHSAU moved the game to Jefferson.

East Greene had fallen to RCL in a non-conference game in Rockwell City on Saturday, Jan. 30 by 13 points, 46-33, so the Hawkettes knew they had their work cut out for them in this rematch. In the first game, senior Brenna Lantz, an All-Twin Lakes Conference 1st team selection last year, and sophomore Bailey Dettman proved to be a powerful 1-2 force, scoring 14 and 10 points respectively with Lantz pulling down a big 14 rebounds.

The EG team that took the court in Jefferson against the Wildcats was much improved, this timing holding Dettman to just 6 points. Lantz scored 18 but was held to just 4 boards.

The Hawkette defense held RCL in check for three quarters, but the Wildcats put up 14points in the last period, although the outcome was still in doubt with 30 seconds left in the game. The victory was doubly sweet for the Wildcats, as coach Dave Birks picked up his 400th career win.

Birks’ victory total will stay at 400, at least until next season, as the Wildcats suffered a tough 49-47 loss to Lynnville-Sully in the regional final Monday night in Ames, ending their season at 13-10. Lynville-Sully (18-6) advanced to the state tournament and will take on Martensdale-St. Mary’s (25-1) tomorrow, March 1, in a 5 p.m. first-round game at Wells-Fargo Arena. Exira (23-0), champions of the Rolling Hills Conference, also qualified for the 1A State Tournament and will open the six-day event with a 10 a.m. tip-off tomorrow against Prince of Peace (17-7) of Clinton. Martensdale-St. Mary’s and Exira were ranked 1-2 in the final IGHSAU basketball poll for Class 1A.

Panorama, which won the West Central Conference with a perfect 18-0 record, saw its bid for a berth in the Class 2A state tournament upended by Audubon, 61-55, in the regional final at Guthrie Center. Panorama ended its season at 19-3, with two of those losses coming at the hands of Audubon and the other to Martensdale-St. Mary’s.

EYE ON GJ SAYS: By any measure, this was clearly a successful season for the EG Hawkettes. Sure, a 10-13 season could be indicative of a “losing” season--one that ended “under .500.” But EG plays in the super-tough West Central Conference against teams from such storied girls basketball towns as Guthrie Center and Coon Rapids and emerging basketball programs like West Central Valley and Des Moines Christian.

When the regular season ended this year, more than 130 “small school” teams entered into regional competition with the goal to secure one of the coveted 8 spots in the 1A state tournament in Des Moines in March.

The fact that of those 130-plus teams, East Greene was just one of 32 to make it to the regional semifinals speaks volumes about this team and the school district it represents. EG was by far the smallest school (based on enrollment) in the West Central Conference, but of the 10 teams, the Hawkettes--only 9 members strong across all four high school grades--finished 5th, a coveted “upper division” finish. This is especially commendable considering that EG was competing among some of the largest 2A schools and a highly ranked 1A private school (Des Moines Christian) that is not limited by geographic or social pressures that impact schools like East Greene.

Senior Malarie Gilley ended her EG basketball career as the all-time best player in East Greene’s five-player era with more than 1,000 rebounds, 1,000 points, and 300 blocks during her career wearing the Green and White. She takes her place among the all-time greats in both the five- and six-player eras who preceded her from EG, Dana, GJ and Rippey such as Pam Slock, Doris June Thornburgh, Margaret Burke, Kathryn Clark, Norma Hillman, Kathy Kennedy, Sherri Peterson, Marlene Rueter, Linda Borgeson, Annie Fagen, Jessie Fagen, and Stephanie Hillman.

Congratulations to all the Hawkettes and co-coaches Traci Beger and Bud Fagen on a terrific season!

WEST CENTRAL CONFERENCE FINAL 2010 STANDINGS
Panorama 18-0
West Central Valley 15-3
Des Moines Christian 15-3
Guthrie Center 11-6
East Greene 8-10
Van Meter 7-11
Woodward-Granger 7-11
Coon Rapids-Bayard 6-11
Earlham 2-16
Madrid 0-17