Regina takes rubber match, in decisive fashion

(View 1A & 2A scores ... HERE)

IOWA CITY -- Mid-Prairie got robbed.

It had nothing to do with officiating. It had everything to do with the quick hands and quick feet of the Regina Regals.

Regina swiped 21 steals and claimed the rubber match between the Cedar Valley Conference co-champions, 58-38, in a Class 2A regional quarterfinal girls' basketball game Tuesday night at Regina High School.

"We had great on-ball pressure and trapped the ball in the corners really well," Regina Coach Clark Anderson said. "We anticipated passes very well."

Regina (20-3) advances to face No. 15 Pella Christian in a regional semifinal Friday at Sigourney. The Eagles (19-3) routed Eddyville-Blakesburg, 73-43, Tuesday.

And the Regals hold bragging rights over the team that split the CVC crown with them.

"By beating them, we feel that we're the conference champs because we won two out of three," said Jenna Lehman, who recorded 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Mid-Prairie (17-6) won at Regina on Jan. 17. It didn't happen again.

The Regals led from opening tip to final buzzer, taking control early and busting it open for good with a 12-0 run to start the second half.

Twenty-one steals will do that for you.

"We were just more aggressive this time," Lehman said. "We were more intense."

Golden Hawks Coach Mark Pennington said, "We didn't play very well. We played loose with the ball. Give Regina all the credit -- they had another gear tonight."

Mid-Prairie recovered somewhat from Regina's first wave, cutting an early 18-5 deficit to 23-18 late in the second quarter. It was 29-20 at intermission.

But the Regals scored 12 straight points to open the third quarter, forcing Pennington to burn three timeouts in 4 1/2 minutes.

Zoe Dutchik had eight of Regina's steals, and scored 12 points. Jordyn Lehman added 10 points, Sydnay Lehman eight.

Erika Murphy paced Mid-Prairie with 11 points.

IOWA CITY REGINA 58, MID-PRAIRIE 38

At Iowa City Regina

MID-PRAIRIE (38): Meghan Redlinger 0-2 2-4 2, Erika Murphy 3-7 2-2 11, Mallory McArtor 3-12 3-4 9, Mariah Swartzendruber 2-8 0-0 4, Jessi Butters 0-1 0-0 0, Hannah Miller 2-3 0-0 4, Olivia Lugar 1-1 2-2 4, Kattie Redlinger 0-2 0-0 0, Taylor Herschberger 0-2 0-0 0, Taylor Kurtz 1-1 0-0 2, Tayler Foster 1-1 0-0 2, Cailee Stumpf 0-1 0-0 0, Courtney Cayton 0-0 0-0 0, Hannah Ball 0-0 0-0 0, Courtney Shalla 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-41 9-12 38.

IOWA CITY REGINA (58): Sydnay Lehman 3-6 0-0 8, Zoe Dutchik 6-10 0-2 12, Olivia Stenger 0-2 0-0 0, Jenna Lehman 8-11 2-2 18, Megan Fackler 1-5 3-5 5, Nikki Becker 0-4 0-0 0, Jordyn Lehman 5-7 0-1 10, Gabby Dutchik 1-3 0-0 2, Hannah Stein 0-0 3-4 3, Hannah Seaman 0-0 0-0 0, Emily Shriver 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-49 8-14 58.

Halftime: Regina 29, Mid-Prairie 20. 3-point goals: Mid-Prairie 3-7 (Murphy 3-5, Swartzendruber 0-2), Regina 2-9 (S.Lehman 2-4, Je.Lehman 0-1, Becker 0-4). Team fouls: Mid-Prairie 18, Regina 12. Fouled out: McArtor. Rebounds: Mid-Prairie 30 (M.Redlinger, Swartzendruber 4), Regina 30 (Je.Lehman 10). Assists: Mid-Prairie 4 (four with 1), Regina 13 (five with 2). Steals: Mid-Prairie 7 (Swartzendruber 3), Regina 21 (Z.Dutchik 8). Turnovers: Mid-Prairie 29, Regina 20.