Grundy Center edges short-handed Iowa City Regina in state quarterfinals, 46-45

DES MOINES — Iowa City Regina's season ended the same way it began.

Without a stacked deck.

Seventh-ranked Regina missed three shots on its final possession, and No. 8 Grundy Center prevailed in a back-and-forth Class 2A quarterfinal, 46-45, at the girls' state basketball tournament Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Arena.

'We got three good shots, and that's all you can ask,' Regina Coach Jeff Wallace said. 'We thought the whole way we were going to win.

'It just didn't bounce our way.'

Grundy Center (23-1) had a six-point lead when Hailey Wallis scored with 4:50 left, but the Regals (21-5) dug in and gave themselves a chance.

Mary Crompton's basket got Regina within a point with 1:25 to go. But the Regals missed their last four shots, including three in the final 8 seconds.

Lauren Gaarde misfired on a 3-pointer, Kennedy Wallace rebounded and missed a 12-footer, then Alexa Lehman missed a contested shot under the basket at the buzzer.

'We focused on defense, defense, defense,' Grundy Center's Kylie Willis said. 'We didn't want to give them an easy shot.'

Regina was without post Alex Wiese, who averages 15.4 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. Wiese suffered a knee injury at practice Sunday.

It was an absence the Regals couldn't overcome.

'It helped our bigs, knowing (Wiese) wouldn't be in there,' Grundy Center's Brooke Flater said. 'She's a great player.'

An Illinois State signee, Crompton led all scorers with 20 points. Crompton missed the first nine games of the season with her own knee injury.

Neither team led by more than six points — Grundy Center held a 40-34 advantage on Wallis' bucket — and the game featured five ties and five lead changes.

Grundy Center will face No. 2 Treynor (23-1) in a 2A semifinal at 10 a.m. Friday. The Cardinals, last year's runner-up, eliminated No. 11 West Sioux, 54-30.

Greyson Dumont added 13 points for Regina. Willis posted 12 points and nine rebounds for Grundy Center, Flater added 11 points.

GRUNDY CENTER 46, IOWA CITY REGINA 45

Class 2A State Quarterfinal, at Des Moines

GRUNDY CENTER (46): Hailey Wallis 3-7 1-2 8, Maddie McMartin 1-4 0-0 2, Sydney Mathews 1-1 1-1 3, Kylie Willis 5-9 2-5 12, Brooke Flater 5-9 1-1 11, Reegen Zinkula 2-4 0-0 5, Sarah Lindeman 1-3 0-0 2, Cora Saak 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 19-39 5-9 46.

IOWA CITY REGINA (45): Mary Crompton 8-17 2-3 20, Alexa Lehman 1-9 0-0 3, Lauren Gaarde 0-3 0-0 0, Greyson Dumont 6-8 0-0 13, Kennedy Wallace 2-7 0-0 6, Elly Gahan 1-2 1-2 3, Katie Dunn 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-47 3-5 45.

Halftime: Grundy Center 23, Regina 22. 3-point goals: Grundy Center 3-14 (Wallis 1-5, McMartin 0-3, Willis 0-1, Zinkula 1-2, Saak 1-1), Regina 6-24 (Crompton 2-7, Lehman 1-7, Gaarde 0-2, Dumont 1-2, Wallace 2-6). Team fouls: Grundy Center 9, Regina 14. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Grundy Center 24 (Willis 9), Regina 25 (Crompton 6). Assists: Grundy Center 12 (McMartin 3), Regina 9 (Gaarde 3). Steals: Grundy Center 6 (Wallis 3), Regina 10 (Gaarde 6). Turnovers: Grundy Center 14, Regina 12.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com