Beating Regina: Easier said than done

DES MOINES — Derek Sonderland laid out a blueprint to beating Iowa City Regina.

'It's going to take a team that's long and athletic,' said the coach at Logan-Magnolia. 'It will have to really get out and pressure. It's going to have to get out and board and limit them to one shot.

'And more than anything, it's going to have to guard all five positions.'

There's your formula. Yet, nobody's been able to make it work.

Top-ranked Regina led from start to finish and handled No. 12 Logan-Magnolia, 67-54, in a Class 2A quarterfinal at the girls' state basketball tournament Monday afternoon at Wells Fargo Arena.

Alex Wiese scored the Regals' first eight points and finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds as Regina moved to 26-0.

'It felt like just another game,' she said. 'I kept doing what I've been doing.'

Next up is No. 4 Western Christian (23-2), a 58-48 winner over No. 5 North Linn and a team with enough length to give Regina a challenge.

Nobody has finished closer than 12 points of the Regals this season. Logan-Magnolia (21-4) played well enough, but it's hard to beat an elite team when it shoots 61.5 percent.

The Panthers matched Regina blow for blow after Wiese staked the Regals to a quick 6-0 lead. Kylan Straight's basket got Logan-Magnolia within 32-29 late in the first half before baskets by Grayson Dumont and Wiese made it 36-29 at intermission.

It was 52-39 after three quarters, then an 8-0 Regina run put it away.

'Everybody was a little excited right after tipoff, but we got composed pretty quickly,' Regina's Mary Crompton said. 'We really stuck to what we do. We ran our stuff.'

Crompton added 15 points for the Regals, Sarah Lehman provided 14.

The Regals got a big bench lift from Alexa Lehman (eight points) and Lauren Gaarde (six), who combined to shoot 5-of-5 from the field, 4-of-4 from long distance.

'They stepped up and gave us a lot of energy,' Crompton said.

Straight led Logan-Magnolia — which was making its state-tournament debut — with 22 points and eight rebounds. Kenzie Cunard scored 13.

The Panthers made 60 percent of their shots in the first half, then cooled to 39 percent after the break.

IOWA CITY REGINA 67, LOGAN-MAGNOLIA 54

2A State Quarterfinal, at Des Moines

LOGAN-MAGNOLIA (54): Alexis Fender 3-6 0-0 8, Kylan Straight 8-11 6-6 22, Kylie Morrison 1-5 0-0 2, Kenzie Cunard 1-5 0-0 2, Delaney Ettleman 4-8 1-1 9, Violet Lapke 0-0 0-0 0, Olivia Lapke 0-0 0-0 0, Shya Deakins 0-0 0-0 0, Julianna King 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-43 8-9 54.

IOWA CITY REGINA (67): Mary Crompton 5-7 3-3 15, Sarah Lehman 5-8 3-4 14, Grayson Dumont 1-1 3-5 5, Kennedy Wallace 0-5 1-1 1, Alex Wiese 8-13 2-2 18, Alexa Lehman 3-3 0-0 8, Lauren Gaarde 2-2 0-0 6. Totals 24-39 12-15 67.

Halftime: Regina 36, Logan-Magnolia 29. 3-point goals: Logan-Magnolia 4-13 (Fender 2-4, Straight 0-1, Cunard 2-8), Regina 7-15 (Crompton 2-4, S.Lehman 1-1, Wallace 0-5, Wiese 0-1, A.Lehman 2-2, Gaarde 2-2). Team fouls: Logan-Magnolia 14, Regina 12. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Logan-Magnolia 25 (Straight 8), Regina 15 (Wiese 11). Assists: Logan-Magnolia 9 (Morrison 5), Regina 15 (Dumont 5). Steals: Logan-Magnolia 3 (Fender 2), Regina 11 (Crompton 4). Turnovers: Logan-Magnolia 18, Regina 9.

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