‘It’s tough’: Benton drops a girls’ state basketball heartbreaker to Des Moines Christian, 49-46

DES MOINES — A remarkable three-year run came to its conclusion Monday night, and Jeff Zittergruen summed it up in two words:

“It’s tough.”

Just when eighth-ranked Benton Community seemed to be building momentum in the third quarter, No. 2 Des Moines Christian seized it back and won Monday’s Class 3A girls’ basketball state quarterfinal, 49-46, at Wells Fargo Arena.

“They’re a good team, and they went on a run,” Benton senior McKenna Kramer said. “We fought back, but we couldn’t catch them at the end.”

Des Moines Christian (24-1) won its 21st consecutive game and advanced to the semifinal round. The Lions will face either No. 3 Solon or No. 7 Dubuque Wahlert at 3:15 Thursday afternoon.

“Our defense really stepped up. We brought energy when we had to,” said DMC’s Addy Oetker, who posted 17 points and six assists. “We had to step up and play fast.”

As for Benton (18-7), well, it’s tough.

Seniors like Kramer, Emma Townsley, Piper Nelson and Zoey Junge have been teammates for the better part of a decade.

“Forever,” Townsley said. “I’ll remember all of the fun times, the fun wins.”

There has been plenty of that. The Bobcats advanced to state three straight years. They were 4A qualifiers in 2022, 3A runners-up in 2003, 3A qualifiers again this season.

Benton trailed most of the game, but consecutive 3-pointers by Townsley and Kramer put the Bobcats in front 28-25. And when Nelson scored on a drive, it was 30-27 with 3:38 left in the third quarter.

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After Nelson’s hoop, Zittergruen called timeout.

“I try to stage some breaks when I can, because we’re not very deep,” he said.

Instead, it was the Lions that came out of their huddle reinvigorated. A 17-5 push gave DMC its largest lead, 44-35, with 5:16 remaining in the game.

Kramer’s 3-pointer cut the deficit to 47-43, then Junge — fouled on a 3-point attempt — knocked down all three free throws to make it 48-46 with 1:20 left.

Nelson and Junge missed potential go-ahead 3-pointers in the final minute, DMC’s Abby Hall made a free throw with 0:03 to go, and the Lions held on.

Hall matched Oetker with 17 points.

Kramer led the Bobcats with 17 points. Townsley added 15 points and seven rebounds.

But the Bobcats shot 29 percent from the field, including 7 of 30 from 3-point range.

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Photos: Benton vs. Des Moines Christian in Class 3A girls’ state basketball quarterfinals

Des Moines Christian 49, Benton Community 46

Class 3A State Quarterfinal, at Des Moines

BENTON COMMUNITY (46): Emma Townsley 5-15 3-4 15, Piper Nelson 2-6 0-0 4, McKenna Kramer 4-13 5-6 17, Aubrey Kelly 2-6 0-0 5, Zoey Junge 1-7 3-5 5, Hailey Suiter 0-0 0-0 0, Sophia Seeck 0-1 0-0 0, Avery Kramer 0-1 0-0 0, Hannah Greiner 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-49 11-15 46.

DES MOINES CHRISTIAN (49): Addy Oetker 7-9 3-5 17, Tori Burton 1-2 0-0 2, Paige Hilgerson 0-4 0-0 0, Gianna Bennett 1-3 2-3 4, Abby Hall 5-13 4-6 17, Meg Muller 2-6 0-0 4, Etta Fish 1-1 0-0 3, Grace Hudson 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 18-41 9-14 49.

Benton Community 5 14 13 14 — 46

Des Moines Christian 9 14 12 14 — 49

3-point goals: Benton 7-30 (Townsley 2-7, Nelson 0-2, M. Kramer 4-12, Kelly 1-4, A. Kramer 0-1, Junge 0-4), DMC 4-11 (Hilgerson 0-2, Hall 3-7, Muller 0-1, Fish 1-1). Team fouls: Benton 14, DMC 12. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Benton 32 (Nelson 8), DMC 31 (Bennett 14). Assists: Benton 5 (Townsley 4), DMC 9 (Oetker 6). Steals: Benton 3 (Nelson 2), DMC 3 (three with 1). Turnovers: Benton 6, DMC 7.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com