Conaway leads Dutch past CPU

DES MOINES -- If you drafted Alexis Conaway in your girls' state tournament fantasy league, consider yourself a winner.

Conaway stuffed her stat line full of goodies, and top-ranked MOC-Floyd Valley overwhelmed No. 12 Center Point-Urbana, 69-42, in a Class 3A quarterfinal at the  Tuesday afternoon at Wells Fargo Arena.

The athletic 6-footer flirted with a quadruple-double for a while, compiling 21 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and seven steals as the Dutch (24-1) advanced to the semifinals for the third consecutive year.

"She's a phenomenal player," said CPU's Arika Wooldridge. "She has a great all-around game. She makes plays."

Conaway left the game early in the fourth quarter with a bloody nose, then departed for good with the game in hand with about 4 minutes left.

Unlike most elite players, the clock on Conaway's career is ticking. She'll play volleyball at Iowa State.

"I'll miss it," said Conaway, also an excellent high-jumper. "I always love what sport I'm playing."

Right now, it's basketball, and the Dutch are hoping to win a title after falling a bit short the last two years.

The first step was a snap. MOC-Floyd Valley burst to a 28-15 lead after the first quarter, and weren't severely challenged.

"Our goal was to force them to shoot perimeter shots, and it didn't work," said CPU Coach Philip Klett. "Conaway's a great player for sure, and they have a handful of players that complement her well."

Kennedy Salow said, "Our defense wasn't what it should have been. If we'd have had that, it would have been a lot closer."

Salow provided the moment of the game for the Stormin' Pointers (18-7), drilling a half-court shot at the halftime buzzer.

"I figured, I might as well shoot it," she said. "I was hoping that might change the momentum."

It cut the deficit to 40-27, but MOC-Floyd Valley opened the third quarter with an 11-3 burst to break it open.

Salow led Center Point-Urbana was 19 points. Wooldridge added 16. The Stormin' Pointers were making their first state appearance since their championship season of 1995.

Katie Landhuis added 14 points for the winners; Emily McDonald scored 13.The Dutch advance to face No. 4 Mediapolis (24-1)/No. 5 Williamsburg (23-2) in a semifinal at 5 p.m. Thursday.

MOC-FLOYD VALLEY 69, CENTER POINT-URBANA 42

Class 3A Quarterfinal, at Wells Fargo Arena

CENTER POINT-URBANA (42): Shelby Brecht 0-1 0-0 0, Emily Kramer 1-3 0-0 2, Arika Wooldridge 3-7 10-14 16, Kennedy Salow 5-12 8-9 19, Brittany Buelow 1-3 0-2 3, Payton Hasleiet 1-3 0-2 3, Alexa Brooker 0-1 0-0 0, Claire Chandler 0-2 0-0 0, Bailey Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Madeline Roseke 0-2 0-0 0, Margaret Bruce 1-1 0-0 2, Claire Holtz 0-0 0-0 0, Jacey Rees 0-1 0-0 0, Rachael Sackett 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 11-34 18-25 42.

MOC-FLOYD VALLEY (69): Bre Harmelink 3-5 0-0 8, Alexis Conaway 9-14 3-6 21, Faith Vander Voort 5-11 3-5 14, Emily McDonald 5-8 2-2 13, Ira DeJong 0-1 0-0 0, Grace DeHaan 0-1 0-0 0, Breanne Schuiteman 0-7 0-0 0, Ali Achterhof 0-1 0-0 0, Destiny Einerwold 0-0 0-0 0, Sydney Hughes 1-1 0-0 2, Ella Swart 0-0 0-0 0, Shay Kamstra 0-0 0-0 0, Abby Reints 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 27-57 8-13 69.Halftime: MOC-FV 40, CPU 27. 3-point goals: CPU 2-9 (Kramer 0-1, Wooldridge 0-2, Salow 1-2, Buelow 1-2, Hasleiet 0-1, Chandler 0-1), MOC-FV 7-20 (Harmelink 2-3, Conaway 0-1, Vander Voort 3-4, Landhuis 1-5, McDonald 1-2, DeJong 0-1, Schuiteman 0-3, Achterhof 0-1). Team fouls: CPU 14, MOC-FV 19. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: CPU 25 (Salow 5), MOC-FV 34 (Conaway 10). Assists: CPU 6 (six with 1), MOC-FV 15 (Conaway 8). Steals: CPU 4 (four with 1), MOC-FV 17 (Conaway 7). Turnovers: CPU 23, MOC-FV 11.