Central City upsets No. 11 North Tama

VINTON -- Cody Ratliff had not prepared a postgame locker-room consolation speech."We always think we're going to win every game we're in," he said. "I never think ahead anyway, but especially negatively."We weren't ready for the season to end."Obviously.Down 12 points midway through the third quarter, Central City rallied from the arc, then clinched it from the line in a 54-46 upset of No. 11 North Tama in a Class 1A girls' basketball regional semifinal Friday night at Garrison Fieldhouse."I knew we were going to pull it out," said Meghan Simmons, who hit three 3-pointers to spark a 15-0 surge in the third quarter to bring the Wildcats back. "I just knew it."Central City (16-8) advances to face No. 9 Lynnville-Sully (19-4) in a regional final at 7 p.m. Monday at Meskwaki Settlement School, Tama.The winner advances to the state tournament Feb. 28-March 5 at Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines.Yes, they're uttering the words "state tournament" at Central City, a school that had not posted a five-player winning season from 1994 until this year."We're going all the way (to state)," Simmons said.North Tama (20-4) seemed to be in firm control, scoring the first eight points of the second half to establish a 29-17 advantage.But, as Ratliff said, the Wildcats weren't ready for it to end.With the Redhawks leading 31-20, Simmons nailed three long shots in a row -- one on which she was fouled and turned into a four-point play. Vanessa Fiechtner added another in the rally and the tables were turned.Central City took a 35-33 lead into the fourth quarter, and never surrendered it.Clinging to a 43-41 edge and less than two minutes to go, the Wildcats stretched it out by making 11 of 14 free throws."I was nervous at first, but once we started getting further and further ahead, I got more comfortable with my shot," said Fiechtner, who nailed 8 of 10 down the stretch.The game was billed as a matchup between posts Kailey Kladivo of North Tama and Tanya Hendrickson of Central City. It was a virtual stalemate. Kladivo registered 13 points and 11 rebounds; Hendrickson posted 10 points and eight boards.Fiechtner led all scorers with 18 points. Simmons added 14 for the Wildcats, and Rachael Enabnit registered eight points and nine rebounds.Sydney Fehr came off the bench to pace North Tama with 16 points.

AT VINTON

CENTRAL CITY (54): Rachael Enabnit 3-4 2-2 8, Christy Nelson 1-8 0-0 3, Tanya Hendrickson 3-9 4-5 10, Vanessa Fiechtner 3-6 11-13 18, Meghan Simmons 4-11 2-3 14, Sam Nielsen 0-0 1-2 1, Kelsey Kellogg 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-38 20-25 54.

NORTH TAMA (46): Aryn Isenhower 1-2 0-0 3, Erin Herink 2-7 0-0 5, Allison Zobel 1-7 0-2 3, Kailey Kladivo 4-10 5-6 13, Amanda Howard 3-5 0-0 6, Sydney Fehr 5-13 3-5 16, Sam Zobel 0-1 0-0 0, Shayla Kopriva 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-47 8-13 46.

Halftime: North Tama 21, Central City 17.

3-point goals: Central City 6-19 (Nelson 1-5, Hendrickson 0-1, Fiechtner 1-3, Simmons 4-10), North Tama 6-16 (Isenhower 1-1, Herink 1-4, A.Zobel 1-5, Fehr 3-6).

Team fouls: Central City 15, North Tama 21.

Fouled out: Enabnit, Herink, A.Zobel.

Rebounds: Central City 33 (Enabnit 9), North Tama 29 (Kladivo 11).

Assists: Central City 9 (Hendrickson 3), North Tama 8 (A.Zobel 4).

Steals: Central City 4 (Enabnit 2), North Tama 6 (Isenhower 4).

Turnovers: Central City 16, North Tama 15.