A bitter ending for Little Hawks

DES MOINES -- Kiera Washpun crumpled to the ground, her head in her hands.For Haley Lorenzen, the agony lingered longer.

"I kept trying, but it wasn't my (day)," she said. "And it wasn't the right (day) for me not to perform."

Top-ranked Iowa City High's "Big Three" combined to shoot 11 of 44 from the floor, enabling No. 5 West Des Moines Dowling to come from behind and break the Little Hawks' hearts, 49-44, in a Class 5A semifinal at the girls' state basketball tournament Friday afternoon at Wells Fargo Arena.

"It wasn't just the last six or seven minutes," Lorenzen said. "We came out strong, then we let them get the momentum, and things started to fall apart. I obviously didn't play my best game at all."

Dowling (22-3) set up an all-CIML championship rematch with No. 8 Southeast Polk (18-6). The defending-champion Rams ousted Waterloo West, 54-46.

"We'll be ready for them," said Dowling's Luci Sarcone.City High retired at 24-1. A team that steamrolled through its competition much of the year (only Waterloo West and Muscatine stayed close with them), the Little Hawks wilted late in the game Friday.

The Little Hawks led 36-30 after Washpun nailed two free throws with 7:02 to play, but it was all Dowling from there. The Maroons scored the next 11 points and took the lead for good.

"Our defense helped us win this game," Sarcone said. "And we had to focus on getting shots that we could make."

Dowling shot 56 percent from the floor and hit all 10 of its free throws in the second half.

It was a bitter ending for Lorenzen, the University of Florida signee who had enjoyed a brilliant high school career. Lorenzen was 3-of-14 from the field, 2-of-7 from the free throw line. She missed five straight foul shots, including a pair with 4:59 left and the Little Hawks trailing by a point.

"I had no confidence there, I really didn't," she said. "My teammates tried to pick me up. It shows that I need to work on my mental strength."

Washpun, who had 31 points in a first-round rout of Cedar Rapids Kennedy, was 4-of-15 from the field and scored a team-high 15 points. Courtney Joens also was 4-of-15 and added 14 points. Lorenzen added eight points to go with 11 rebounds.

"I think we just got too comfortable," Washpun said. "We didn't box out very much. There were a lot of things we could have done better."

City High raced to leads of 8-0 and 13-2, and took its largest lead at 23-11 when Sam Blowers nailed a 3-pointer with 3:10 left in the first half. Dowling scored the final seven points of the half, and trailed by five at intermission.

Washpun's 3-pointer made it 34-27 with 1:45 left in the third quarter, but the Little Hawks didn't score from the field again for more than 9 minutes.

"They seemed a little uneasy at times," Sarcone said.

Dowling had the height to compete with the 6-foot-3 Lorenzen inside; the Maroons started four 6-footers.

"We know how to defend the post. It's something we can usually do well," said Dowling Coach Bob Hanson.

Becca Hittner led the Maroons with 19 points. Audrey Faber added 14 points and six assists.

"We ran into a very good team today," said City Coach Bill McTaggart. "We knew we would need our best game to beat them."(Like I) tried to tell the team in the locker room, this team set all sorts of records this year. Down the road, they'll realize how special this season was."Washpun said, "You don't get over (a loss like this). You just have to think you did all that you could."

WEST DES MOINES DOWLING 49, IOWA CITY HIGH 44Class 5A Semifinal, at Wells Fargo ArenaWEST DES MOINES DOWLING (49): Luci Sarcone 2-3 0-0 4, Hayden Butler 1-6 2-2 5, Becca Hitner 6-9 4-4 19, Marin Daniel 2-4 3-4 7, Audrey Faber 4-10 6-6 14, Kennedy Childers 0-0 0-0 0, Mykal Sadler 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-32 15-16 49.IOWA CITY HIGH (44): Sara Blowers 0-2 0-0 0, Kiera Washpun 4-15 5-6 15, Sam Blowers 1-1 0-0 3, Courtney Joens 4-15 4-4 14, Haley Lorenzen 3-14 2-7 8, Sarah Plock 2-2 0-0 4, Peyton Koenig 0-1 0-0 0, Kenya Earl 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 14-53 11-17 44.Halftime: City High 23, Dowling 18. 3-point goals: Dowling 4-9 (Butler 1-6, Hittner 3-3), City High 5-20 (Washpun 2-9, Sam Blowers 1-1, Joens 2-7, Koenig 0-1, Earl 0-2). Team fouls: Dowling 14, City High 19. Fouled out: Sarcone. Rebounds: Dowling 32 (Sarcone 9), City High 27 (Lorenzen 11). Assists: Dowling 9 (Faber 6), City High 10 (Washpun, Joens 3). Steals: Dowling 6 (Hittner 3), City High 14 (Joens 8). Turnovers: Dowling 16, City High 7.