Central Lyon’s last-second shot sinks Cascade in girls’ state basketball tournament

DES MOINES — Heather Grafing didn’t care who took the last shot.

As long as it was, indeed, the last shot.

Desta Hoogendoorn took it, and made it.

“It just ended up that way,” Hoogendoorn said after her jumper from the middle of the lane beat the buzzer and sent third-ranked Central Lyon past No. 10 Cascade, 42-40, in a Class 2A quarterfinal at the girls’ state basketball tournament Wednesday afternoon at Wells Fargo Arena.

“My great teammate (Regan Van Whye) gave me that pass. All I had to do was stay calm.”

» Photos: Cascade vs. Central Lyon in 2A state quarterfinals

Cascade’s Josie Manternach scored on a feed from Alyssa Lux with 52 seconds left to tie the game. The Lions (23-2) called timeout and set up a final play.

“We just wanted the last shot,” said Grafing, the Lions’ head coach. “We were going to move the ball with six seconds left, and Desta never flinched.”

Central Lyon prevailed after Cascade (20-5) rallied from a 14-point deficit. The Lions will face No. 2 Denver (24-2) at 11:45 Friday morning in a 2A semifinal.

For the Cougars, the loss stung, for sure. However ...

“I’m beyond proud,” Cascade Coach Mike Sconsa said. “At halftime, I was livid. I thought we were weak and soft. I challenged them quite a bit.”

And the Cougars responded.

Down 29-17 at intermission, Cascade chipped away. The Cougars scored the first seven points of the second half, and by the end of the third quarter, it was 33-32 and anybody’s ball game.

“Coach told us that he knew we could play better than we were,” Alyssa Lux said. “We just had to show it to him.”

Cascade took a brief 35-33 lead on Manternach’s two free throws with 7:12 left.

University of South Dakota recruit Addison Klosterbuer put the Lions back in front, 38-35, with a 3-pointer with 4:00 left, but Cascade’s Ally Hoffman answered from long distance to tie it, 38-38.

Central Lyon reclaimed the lead on Hoogendoorn’s basket with 2:47 left. Manternach tied it again at 0:52, and, well, you know the rest.

“They have great players, and they made great shots,” Hoffman said.

Next year, a 35-second shot clock will come to Iowa. Prolonged possessions, like Central Lyon’s final one Wednesday, will be extinct.

Hoogendoorn led the Lions with 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Klosterbuer added 14 points and nine boards.

“They have a player that’s going to South Dakota. The closest thing for us, I think most of the kids know where South Dakota is,” Sconsa said.

“We played with a lot of guts. We’re not going to pass the eye-candy test. But in this day and age, toughness matters.”

Hoffman posted 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Cougars. Lux contributed eight points and four steals.

Central Lyon prevailed despite missing nine of its 11 free-throw attempts. The Lions enjoyed their largest lead at 29-15 late in the second quarter.

Central Lyon 42, Cascade 40

Class 2A State Quarterfinal, at Des Moines

CASCADE (40): Ally Hoffman 5-19 3-4 16, Alyssa Lux 3-10 0-0 8, Molly Roling 2-12 1-2 5, Devin Simon 2-7 0-0 4, Maggie McDermott 0-0 1-2 1, Megan Smith 0-1 0-0 0, Tayrn Hoffman 1-4 0-0 2, Laura Otting 0-0 0-0 0, Josie Manternach 1-4 2-2 4. Totals 14-57 7-10 40.

CENTRAL LYON (42): Afton Schlumbohm 1-5 0-5 2, Addison Klosterbuer 5-15 0-0 14, Regan Van Wyhe 1-6 1-2 3, Kaylee Davis 2-11 0-0 6, Desta Hoogendoorn 7-12 1-4 15, Brooklyn Krull 1-3 0-0 2, Ashlynn Yeakel 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-52 2-11 42.

Cascade 8 9 15 8 -- 40

Central Lyon 14 15 4 9 -- 42

3-point goals: Cascade 5-23 (A. Hoffman 3-10, Lux 2-6, Roling 0-2, Simon 0-2, Smith 0-1, T. Hoffman 0-2), Central Lyon 6-23 (Schlumbohm 0-2, Klosterbeur 4-11, Davis 2-9, Krull 0-1). Team fouls: Cascade 12, Central Lyon 12. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Cascade 39 (A. Hoffman 11), Central Lyon 45 (Hoogendoorn 11). Assists: Cascade 6 (Lux 3), Central Lyon 13 (Schlumbohm 4). Steals: Cascade 8 (Lux 4), Central Lyon 5 (Davis, Hoogendoorn 2). Turnovers: Cascade 7, Central Lyon 14.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com