Tempo not enough for Cascade

DES MOINES -- Abbey Meyer felt agony. But not a hint of regret.

"This really hurts. We wanted this one really bad," Meyer said tearfully after second-ranked Cascade suffered a 45-33 loss to No. 4 Hudson in a Class 2A semifinal at the girls' state basketball tournament Thursday afternoon at Wells Fargo Arena. "We had a lot of seniors on this team. We did our best, and I'm really proud of this team. I just wish we'd have played better."

Hudson (25-1) made all the plays in the fourth quarter after Meyer carried the Cougars (26-1) to a brief, fleeting lead.

The Pirates are rewarded with a championship-game date with top-rated, two-time defending champion Western Christian (26-1), a 69-52 victor over North Linn.

"We kept our cool and played basketball like we know how to play," said Hudson's Casey Miles. "It worked out fine for us."

You could say Cascade was beaten at its own game -- defense -- and that it were outzoned. The Cougars shot just 12 of 41 from the floor (29.3 percent), and that included an 8-for-13 effort by Meyer, who led all scorers with 24 points.

"Tough one, no doubt about it," said Cascade Coach Mike Sconsa. "They made the plays. We didn't shoot well. The kids fought. They beat us. That's the way it goes."

Cascade made just 3 of 18 shots in the first half and trailed 14-9 at intermission. The Pirates maintained the lead until Meyer went crazy at the end of the third quarter.

She scored nine points in the span of 2 minutes, 15 seconds -- including a 3-pointer with 22 seconds left in the quarter and a steal and layup just before the buzzer -- as Cascade turned a 22-15 deficit into a 26-25 edge.

The momentum didn't last.Amanda Cartney's two free throws gave the lead back to Hudson, 27-26, with 7:43 left. Lindsey Koch and Casey Miles sandwiched 3-pointers around Meyer's trey to extend the margin to 33-29, then the Pirates sealed the deal from the free throw line, hitting 10 of 12 from the stripe in the final 1:53 to pull away.

Hudson scored 84 points in a quarterfinal win over Woodbury Central on Monday, but Cascade dictated tempo in this one.

Trouble was, the Cougars couldn't shoot.

Hudson led, 4-2, after a quarter, then assembled a 10-0 second-quarter surge and owned a 14-9 advantage at the half.

"We set the tone with our defense, but we just didn't play well enough offensively," Sconsa said.

Carolyn Trumm added seven points and eight rebounds for the Cougars.Miles led the Pirates with 15 points. Koch added 14.

HUDSON 45, CASCADE 33

Class 2A State Semifinal, at Wells Fargo Arena

HUDSON (45): Courtney Petersen 1-1 0-0 3, Amanda Cartney 1-6 4-4 7, Casey Miles 4-10 6-8 15, Abby Hillmer 1-3 1-2 3, Lindsey Koch 4-6 3-4 14, Gabi Petry 0-0 0-0 0, Corey Miler 1-5 0-0 3. Totals 12-31 14-18 45.CASCADE (33): Abbey Meyer 8-13 4-5 24, Holly Hunt 0-2 0-0 0, Elle Hoffman 0-7 0-0 0, Mallory McDermott 0-0 0-0 0, Carolyn Trumm 3-8 1-6 7, Bailey Holmes 0-8 0-0 0, Katie Soliday 0-0 0-0 0, Megan McDermott 1-2 0-0 2, Claire Molony 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 12-41 5-11 33.Halftime: Hudson 14, Cascade 9. 3-point goals: Hudson 7-17 (Petersen 1-1, Cartney 1-3, Ca.Miles 1-5, Hillmer 0-1, Koch 3-4, Co.Miles 1-3), Cascade 4-19 (Meyer 4-6, Hunt 0-1, Hoffman 0-4, Holmes 0-7, Me.McDermott 0-1). Team fouls: Hudson 14, Cascade 17. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Hudson 26 (Cartney, Ca.Miles 6), Cascade 26 (Trumm 8). Assists: Hudson 9 (Ca.Miles 5), Cascade 4 (Holmes 2). Steals: Hudson 5 (Hillmer 2), Cascade 10 (Hunt 3). Turnovers: Hudson 19, Cascade 18.