West Hancock leads throughout, downs Montezuma in girls' state basketball semifinals

DES MOINES — A basketball game is determined by dozens of plays, hundreds of moments.

One moment haunted Janel Burgess most in the postgame press conference.

'We hang our hat on hustle plays, but I can still see the ball sitting there at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter,' the Montezuma head coach said. 'We didn't go dive on the loose ball. They got it, and turned it into a three-point play.'

And that was the beginning of the end for the Bravettes.

Rachel Leerar converted that three-point play with 3:27 left for an eight-point lead, and second-ranked West Hancock defeated No. 3 Montezuma, 59-50, in a Class 1A semifinal at the girls' state tournament Friday afternoon at Wells Fargo Arena.

Leerar registered 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists as the Eagles (25-1) advanced to Saturday's 1A final. They'll face No. 1 Newell-Fonda (26-0) at 7 p.m.

'I've always been short, and I've usually played up a grade or two,' said the 5-foot-7 Leerar. 'But still, what I do is drive. I get my shot blocked sometimes, but I've got to keep going.'

Montezuma (22-3) never led Friday. The Bravettes tied the game three times, the last at 35-35 with 2:05 left in the third quarter.

West Hancock held a 44-41 lead when Leerar got loose on two consecutive back-door drives. Then, at 48-43, she converted the play that bugged Burgess most.

'(Leerar) is a good player, and we couldn't stop her,' Montezuma's Riley Gatton said. 'And we couldn't box out and get enough rebounds.'

Leerar scored 10 points in the fourth quarter. Amanda Chizek added 12 points and 17 rebounds, and Madison Eisenman scored 11 points.

Shateah Wetering, a junior committed to the University of Iowa, led Montezuma with 14 points and nine rebounds, but was 5 of 16 from the floor.

'This was a special team,' she said. 'This wasn't a loss, because we're all so close.'

Said Gatton, a senior who added 12 points: 'We have a bond like no other. It sucks because we won't be able to get it back.'

WEST HANCOCK 59 MONTEZUMA 50

1A State Semifinal, at Des Moines

MONTEZUMA (50): Mya Pargeon 0-2 0-2 0, Shateah Wetering 5-16 3-4 14, Elise Boulton 3-7 0-0 9, Shelby Conger 0-5 5-6 5, Riley Gatton 4-11 3-5 12, Maddy McKeag 1-4 0-0 3, Dylan Holland 3-4 1-2 7. Totals 16-49 12-19 50.

WEST HANCOCK (59): Rachel Leerar 11-19 3-5 25, Madison Eisenman 4-8 1-1 11, Mahayla Faust 0-5 0-1 0, Riley Hiscocks 2-3 0-0 4, Amanda Chizek 4-7 4-6 12, Kennedy Kelly 3-6 1-2 7, Leah Aitchison 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-48 9-15 59.

Halftime: West Hancock 29, Montezuma 24. 3-point goals: Montezuma 6-16 (Wetering 1-4, Boulton 3-7, Conger 0-1, Gatton 1-3, McKeag 1-1), West Hancock 2-12 (Leerar 0-2, Eisenman 2-5, Faust 0-3, Hiscocks 0-1, Kelly 0-1). Team fouls: Montezuma 16, West Hancock 16. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Montezuma 28 (Wetering 9), West Hancock 32 (Chizek 17). Assists: Montezuma 8 (Wetering 4), West Hancock 13 (Leerar 6). Steals: Montezuma 5 (Wetering 3), West Hancock 9 (Kelly 4). Turnovers: Montezuma 14, West Hancock 14.

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