Saturday's state title games: MOC-Floyd Valley shows depth, Dowling gets revenge

DES MOINES -- Alexis Conaway's follow-up performance featured plenty of foul trouble and not a lot of scoring. Two nights after setting a tournament record with 46 points in a 3A semifinal, the MOC-Floyd Valley senior scored just nine on Saturday and sat a chunk of the fourth quarter with four fouls.

The state championship trophy she held afterward more than made up for it.

"I wouldn't have wanted it any other way," Conaway said after her team beat Unity Christian in an all-Orange City 3A final, 63-57. "A team isn't made up of one person, and our team proved that."

MOC-Floyd Valley (26-1) jumped out to a 12-point halftime lead, but had to hold off a fierce Unity Christian rally to win. Katie Landhuis led the Lady Dutch with 21 points on five made three-pointers. Emily McDonald added 13.

McDonald said the team took pride in its complete performance despite an off game from its star.

"It's a good feeling to know that we can," she said. "Especially after her amazing game two days ago. We just had to really depend on each other and rely on the depth of our team."

But Conaway wouldn't want to repeat the five second-half minutes she spent on the bench.

"That was hard. I don't know if I breathed during that time," she said. "I just had to have faith in my teammates, and I knew they could do it. Every girl out there did her job, and that's what got us the win."Unity finished 22-5.

CLASS 5A CHAMPIONSHIP

West Des Moines Dowling 66, Southeast Polk 55

Audrey Faber scored 26 points, shooting 16-of-22 from the free throw line, as Dowling (23-3) avenged last year's state-final loss to the Rams. The Maroons outscored Southeast Polk 21-7 from the stripe, pulling away down the stretch of the fourth quarter.

Dowling's Luci Sarcone dominated down low, scoring 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting, grabbing nine rebounds and swatting four shots.After riding hot 3-point shooting to the finals, the Rams (18-7) struggled from long distance on Saturday night. Annie and Abby Penquite combined to shoot just 3-of-15 from behind the arc, and Allee Ira was 1 of 5.