Defending-champion Unity ousts West Branch

DES MOINES — It was a simple pep talk, Anna Kiel said. Not a chew-out session.

'No, no, nothing like that,' Kiel said. 'Our coaches are good at constructive criticism, and we're good at taking it.'

Third-ranked Unity Christian responded with a big second half and a bigger finish, outscoring No. 6 West Branch 18-4 in the final five minutes to pull away for a 52-33 victory in a Class 2A quarterfinal at the girls' state basketball tournament Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Arena.

The defending 2A champion, Unity (23-1) advances to face No. 2 Iowa City Regina or No. 7 Manson-Northwest Webster in the semifinals at 3:15 p.m. Thursday.

Regina and MNW play their first-rounder Tuesday morning.

'It's a different team this year,' Kiel said. 'We didn't know how our chemistry would be this season, but it's been awesome.'

West Branch closed out its first state-tournament appearance since 1972 with a 21-4 record.

'It wasn't a question of effort tonight,' Trystin Luneckas said. 'We played our hearts out, but they had some tall girls. We executed what we could.

'We made history this year. I'm just glad we got to experience it.'

Back-to-back baskets by Haley Poula and Tatum Koenig brought the Bears within shouting range at 34-29, but Kiel scored inside, Alyssa Fedders followed with a 3-pointer, and the Knights' pullaway was under way.

Unity scored the final 10 points of the game, all from the free throw line, including eight by Chanda Zomermaand, who led all scorers with 19 points.

'I'm proud of the way the kids played against a very, very good basketball team,' said Bears Coach Jarod Tylee. 'I don't think the score was indicative of the game. We had to foul at the end. We just struggled finding ways to score. They're the defending champs for a reason.'

After a back-and-forth first quarter, West Branch opened the second period with six straight points for a 13-8 lead. But the Knights answered with nine in a row, and took a 17-15 advantage into halftime.

Then came the pep talk, and out came the Knights. They extended the margin to 32-25 by the end of the quarter.

Kiel added 16 points and 14 rebounds for the winners.

Paige Miller came off the bench to pace West Branch with eight points. Luneckas added seven, Poula six.

UNITY CHRISTIAN 52, WEST BRANCH 33 (Class 2A State Quarterfinal)

At Des Moines

WEST BRANCH (33): Allyson Simpson 2-9 0-0 4, Tatum Koenig 2-9 0-0 5, Trystin Luneckas 3-5 1-2 7, Haley Mullinix 1-4 0-0 3, Haley Paula 3-10 0-0 6, Kim Gould 0-0 0-0 0, Kara Fountain 0-0 0-0 0, Courtney Jarrett 0-0 0-0 0, Jenae Murry 0-0 0-0 0, Claire Bridges 0-0 0-0 0, Taylor Milder 0-0 0-0 0, Paige Miller 3-4 2-2 8. Totals 14-41 3-4 33.

UNITY CHRISTIAN (52): Chanda Zomermaand 4-12 10-10 19, Alyssas Fedders 1-4 2-2 5, Anna Kiel 7-15 2-3 16, Deidra Noteboom 1-3 1-2 3, Josie Blankespoor 3-4 1-2 7, Justine Malenke 0-0 0-0 0, Haley Hofmeyer 0-0 0-0 0, Corrina Timmermans 0-0 0-0 0, Mikayla Turek 0-0 0-0 0, Brooke Zevenbergen 0-1 0-0 0, Jori Bronner 0-0 0-0 0, Cori Franken 0-0 2-2 2, Danielle Kroeze 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-39 18-21 52.

Halftime: Unity 17, West Branch 15. 3-point goals: West Branch 2-8 (Simpson 0-3, Koenig 1-3, Mullinix 1-1, Poula 0-1), Unity 2-8 (Zomermaand 1-5, Fedders 1-3). Team fouls: West Branch 14, Unity 7. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: West Branch 22 (Poula 7), Unity 28 (Kiel 14). Assists: West Branch 8 (Mullinix 3), Unity 11 (Fedders, Blankespoor 3). Steals: West Branch 4 (Koenig 2), Unity 10 (Fedders 4). Turnovers: West Branch 14, Unity 10.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com