Key basket helps Piper overcome struggles

DES MOINES -- In the end, Mckenzie Piper could laugh about it.

"I was pretty bad tonight," she said in the press room at Wells Fargo Arena.

"But it doesn't matter how I play. It just matters about the team."

And when the team needed her most, Piper turned it around.

The all-stater and University of Illinois recruit made a key basket midway through overtime as Iowa City West outlasted Ankeny, 61-56, Saturday night to win the Class 4A girls' basketball state championship.

It was the only shot West (25-1) took in the extra four minutes.

Piper got the ball on the right baseline, then maneuvered for a reverse layup that gave West a 55-52 lead with 2:00 remaining in overtime. It was the beginning of a celebration for West, the beginning of the end for Ankeny (22-4).

"I knew I had to do something, whatever I could," Piper said. "I wanted this game for my teammates."

It was a happy overtime after a rough regulation. Piper missed seven of her eight shots before making the game-breaker. She also had seven turnovers.

Piper added two free throws with 31 seconds left to make it 58-52, and had several key rebounds down the stretch. She finished with 10 boards.

"Our kids kept playing," West Coach B.J. Mayer said. "I'm really happy for the kids and the coaching staff."

Mayer had been to the championship game twice before and was 0-2 before Saturday. His Spirit Lake team fell to Cedar Rapids Xavier in the 3A title game in 2007, then Des Moines East beat the Women of Troy last year.

His father, Keith Mayer, coached Osage to a boys' championship in 1994.

"I really looked up to him as a coach," Mayer said.

West prevailed partly because Ankeny failed to knock down open shots at key moments. The Hawkettes were 1-of-16 from 3-point range.

The Women of Troy will be recognized at 7 p.m. Monday at the high school.