Cascade smothers Dike-New Hartford in girls' state basketball quarterfinals, 61-44

DES MOINES — Maybe they don't meet your eye test. Whatever.

'We probably don't look like a basketball team when you first see us,' Cascade's Abbie Ruggeberg said. 'We might not have a lot of amazing Division-I athletes.

'But we play team basketball, and it works for us.'

Sixth-ranked Cascade clamped down on No. 9 Dike-New Hartford in the final three quarters, holding the Wolverines four field goals (in 34 attempts) in the last 24 minutes and claiming Wednesday's Class 2A quarterfinal, 61-44, at the girls' state basketball tournament at Wells Fargo Arena.

The Cougars (23-3) outscored DNH by a 33-12 margin in the middle two quarters and advanced to the semifinals for the second straight year. There, they'll face No. 3 Panorama (24-1)/No. 10 North Union (22-2) at 11:45 a.m. Friday.

'(Dike-New Hartford) had us on our heels early,' Cougars Coach Mike Sconsa said. 'They're so athletic and so good. But as athletic as they are, remember that we have a state-championship track team, and our kids can run.'

DNH (23-3) pulled the upset of the regional tournament, knocking off No. 1 North Linn to get to state for the first time in 30 years. And the Wolverines more than matched Cascade early. But the Cougars held DNH to 0-for-13 shooting in the second quarter to flip the game around.

Down 19-15 after a quarter, the Cougars got an offensive lift from Rachel Trumm and took a 31-24 lead into intermission.

'Attacking the basket is kind of my game, and I like when the other team plays man defense,' said Trumm, who more than doubled her season scoring average with a 10-point, 10-rebound contribution.

Sophomore guard Nicole McDermott led all scorers with 20 points, hitting 7 of 10 shots, to go with eight rebounds. Ruggeberg scored 11.

McDermott's fourth-quarter play was the final dagger.

DNH had cut a 17-point deficit to 51-44 with 3:19 left. After Trumm's free throws extended the margin to nine, McDermott got a steal, then turned it into a basket and free throw to make it 56-44.

And that was checkmate.

'Yeah, that was kind of a turning point,' McDermott said. 'We played a lot better after the first quarter; we locked down on their shooters.'

Baylee Petersen paced the Wolverines with 13 points. Morgan Weber added 11.

CASCADE 61, DIKE-NEW HARTFORD 44

Class 2A State Quarterfinal, at Des Moines

DIKE-NEW HARTFORD (44): Ellie Foster 3-11 0-0 7, Sydney Petersen 1-7 2-2 5, Baylee Petersen 2-4 9-10 13, Morgan Weber 3-12 4-5 11, Katie Knock 2-10 2-2 7, Avery Coulter 0-0 0-0 0, Rylee Wessely 0-0 0-0 0, Chloe Schipper 0-0 0-0 0, Allie Aalderks 0-0 0-0 0, Carlee Dove 0-2 1-2 1, Jill Eilderts 0-0 0-0 0, Sydney Latwesen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 11-46 18-21 44.

CASCADE (61): Nicole McDermott 7-10 6-7 20, Anne Ryan 3-7 0-0 8, Jordan Simon 1-5 4-4 7, Rachel Trumm 3-10 4-8 10, Abbie Ruggeberg 2-7 5-6 11, Skylar Dolphin 0-2 0-0 0, Zoe Ryan 0-0 0-0 0, Morgan McMullen 0-0 0-0 0, Hailey Hannan 0-0 0-0 0, Meta Bergfeld 0-1 0-0 0, Madison Gehl 1-1 0-0 2, Robyn Takes 0-0 0-0 0, Molly McElmeel 0-0 0-0 0, Abby Welter 1-2 1-2 3. Totals 18-45 20-27 61.

Halftime: Cascade 31, DNH 24. 3-point goals: DNH 4-20 (Foster 1-3, S.Petersen 1-6, Weber 1-3, Knock 1-8), Cascade 5-14 (A.Ryan 2-5, Simon 1-2, Ruggeberg 2-5, Dolphin 0-2). Team fouls: DNH 17, Cascade 18. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: DNH 26 (Weber 7), Cascade 37 (Trumm 10). Assists: DNH 6 (Foster 3), Cascade 6 (McDermott 2). Steals: DNH 6 (Foster, Knock 2), Cascade 8 (A.Ryan 5). Turnovers: DNH 12, Cascade 13.

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