Dubuque Wahlert ends Williamsburg’s best season in the 3A state semifinals

DES MOINES — Did you really think Williamsburg would come this far, this fast?

Neither did Carly Rich.

“If you’d have told be me four years ago that we’d be playing in a state-semifinal game, I wouldn’t have believed you for a second,” she said.

The best girls’ basketball season in Williamsburg history came to a close Thursday afternoon. No. 2 Dubuque Wahlert jumped on the third-ranked Raiders early and rolled in a Class 3A semifinal, 52-34, at Wells Fargo Arena.

Claire Lueken scored 27 points, and the Golden Eagles (21-4) advanced to their first state final. They will face off with No. 1 Mount Vernon (25-1) for the championship at 8 p.m. Friday.

“It’s pretty exciting,” Wahlert Coach Kris Spiegler said. “We were loose and confident.”

The first quarter was telling. Lueken had nine points, Williamsburg (24-3) was 1-of-14 from the floor and Wahlert led 14-3.

“We knew (Lueken) was going to be tough,” Williamsburg Coach Stephanie Dacey said. “She’s been here and done that, and she can score at every level.”

Wahlert never let the Raiders recover. At 29-16 early in the third quarter, the Golden Eagles scored 12 in a row to bust it open at 41-16.

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“We were the aggressors,” Lueken said. “This means a lot. It’s been a dream for a long time.”

Lueken was the lone player, from either team, in double figures. Claire King and Caroline Freed added seven points apiece for the victors.

Rich paced Williamsburg with nine points. Ava Hocker added six.

As a player, Dacey led Washington (Iowa) to three consecutive state championships from 1999 through 2001, and earned Miss Iowa Basketball honors.

She came back to Iowa in 2022. Part of the reason was to coach Rich, her niece, and her teammates.

Together, they’ve built something. The Raiders won five games in Dacey’s first season, 14 in her second.

Year 3 produced a 24-3 record. The best season in school history.

“This is a great group,” Dacey said. “Yeah, Carly is my niece, but they all feel like my nieces.”

Dubuque Wahlert 52, Williamsburg 34

Class 3A State Semifinal, at Des Moines

WILLIAMSBURG (34): Carly Rich 3-11 2-7 9, Zoe Allen 1-6 0-2 2, Makenna Hughes 0-2 0-0 0, Ava Hocker 2-6 1-1 6, Kennedy Skaggs 2-8 0-0 5, Briley Winegarden 0-0 0-0 0, Demi Horvath 0-0 0-0 0, Kylee Suhr 1-3 1-1 3, Channing Becker 2-4 0-0 4, Kiley Allen 0-0 0-0 0, Alley Gorsh 0-0 0-0 0, Jenna Yearian 0-0 0-0 0, Taylor Sanchez 1-2 0-0 3, Jordyn Skaggs 1-1 0-0 2, Chloe Aossey 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-43 4-11 34.

DUBUQUE WAHLERT (52): Claire King 3-6 0-0 7, Olivia Donovan 1-8 1-4 3, Caroline Freed 3-5 0-0 7, Ruth Tauber 2-6 0-0 4, Claire Lueken 10-18 4-4 27, Lucy Lueken 1-1 0-0 2, Kayla Wuebker 0-0 0-0 0, Myla Breithaupt 0-0 2-2 2, Celia Scherr 0-0 0-0 0, Ella Kennedy 0-1 0-0 0, Camryn Thiesen 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 20-47 7-10 52.

Williamsburg 3 11 7 13 — 34

Dubuque Wahlert 14 15 14 9 — 52

3-point goals: Williamsburg 4-15 (Rich 1-6, Z. Allen 0-1, Hughes 0-1, Hocker 1-1, K. Skaggs 1-4, Becker 0-1, Sanchez 1-1), Wahlert 5-9 (King 1-1, Freed 1-1, Tauber 0-3, C. Lueken 3-5). Team fouls: Williamsburg 12, Wahlert 9. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Williamsburg 25 (Hocker 5), Wahlert 38 (Freed 9). Assists: Williamsburg 4 (Hocker 2), Wahlert 15 (Tauber 6). Steals: Williamsburg 5 (Hocker 2), Wahlert 4 (King 2). Turnovers: Williamsburg 13, Wahlert 10.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com