Fairfield pulls away from Montezuma, 64-46

CEDAR RAPIDS — A basket by Shelby Helm opened the fourth quarter and got Montezuma within four points.

It was the Bravettes' final basket.

Fairfield closed the game with a 15-1 surge and downed Montezuma, 64-46, in a non-conference girls' basketball game as part of Rivalry Saturday at the U.S. Cellular Center.

Nicole Buch paced the Trojans (8-3) with 24 points, hitting 8 of 12 shots and 7 of 8 free throws. Kylie Kurtz added 18 points, Samantha Fritz 10.

The Trojans trailed for much of the first quarter, but a flurry of 3-pointers in the second period pushed them to a 32-23 halftime lead.

Fairfield extended the margin to 48-35 late in the third quarter, but Montezuma (7-4) scored the final seven points of the period, then Helm banked home a basket with about 7:40 left to make it 48-44. But the Bravettes went cold and Fairfield pulled away.

Shateah Wetering, Riley Gatton and Saphire Gatton scored 10 points apiece for Montezuma.

FAIRFIELD 64. MONTEZUMA 46

At U.S. Cellular Center

MONTEZUMA (46): Shelby Heim 4-9 0-0 8, Shateah Wetering 4-10 2-5 10, Riley Gatton 4-8 0-0 10, Saphire Gatton 5-8 0-2 10, Breck Goodman 1-2 2-4 4, Cassidy Watts 0-2 0-0 0, Hanna Jones 0-1 2-2 2, Mya Pargeon 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 19-41 6-13 46.

FAIRFIELD (64): Samantha Fritz 4-11 0-0 10, Kylie Kurtz 5-8 5-6 18, Nicole Buch 8-12 7-8 24, Brooke McLain 0-4 0-0 0, Mikaela Lunsford 2-7 3-4 7, Brynna Bowman 2-2 0-0 5, Malory Jones 0-1 0-0 0, Kara Jeffrey 0-0 0-0 0, Kailey Kaska 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-45 15-18 64.

Halftime: Fairfield 32, Montezuma 23. 3-point goals: Montezuma 2-11 (Helm 0-2, Wetering 0-3, R.Gatton 2-4, Watts 0-2), Fairfield 7-18 (Fritz 2-5, Kurtz 3-5, Buch 1-2, McLain 0-2, Lunsford 0-3, Bowman 1-1). Team fouls: Montezuma 14, Fairfield 11. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Montezuma 23 (S.Gatton 5), Fairfield 26 (Buch 6). Assists: Montezuma 7 (Helm 3), Fairfield 11 (Lunsford 3). Steals: Montezuma 3 (S.Gatton 2), Fairfield 6 (Buch 2). Turnovers: Montezuma 16, Fairfield 11.

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