Craig’s dream-come-true shot lifts West

DES MOINES — Dani Craig knows comebacks. And in the greater scheme of things, a 14-point deficit isn't so forboding.

'When I was going through rehab (for a torn ACL), it gave me a lot of time to think about what I still wanted to accomplish,' she said.

It gave her time to dream. And Wednesday afternoon, she lived it.

Craig hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 22 seconds left, and fifth-ranked Iowa City West came back from an extremely shaky start to edge No. 6 Southeast Polk, 43-40, in a Class 5A quarterfinal at the girls' state basketball tournament at Wells Fargo Arena.

'I've dreamed about a shot like that my whole life,' Craig said.

West (22-2) advances to a semifinal at noon Friday opposite No. 1 West Des Moines Valley. The Tigers (22-2) handled Mason City, 65-42, on Wednesday.

The 5A champion in 2013 and last year's runner-up, Southeast Polk finished 17-7. The Rams had the Women of Troy in an early headlock at 21-7 midway through the second quarter. But West recovered and gradually dug its way out.

'When you get down that big, doubt starts creeping in,' Craig said. 'But we stuck with it.'

'We really believed in ourselves,' said West's Bella Lozano-Dobbs.

A signee of Cal State-Fullerton, Craig stuck with it after she tore her right ACL, between her sophomore and junior seasons. She did not play last year, and West went 12-11 without her.

'She worked really hard to get all the way back, to get to play on the big stage,' said West Coach B.J. Mayer.

Craig banked home a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to a manageable 25-18 by halftime. West scored the first seven points of the second half to tie it, then an 8-0 run gave West the lead at 33-29 late in the third quarter. Ali Tauchen's basket gave West its largest lead at 37-32 with 5:25 left.

What followed was a dramatic, back-and-forth ending.

Ashton Donels hit three free throws to put the Rams up, 38-37. After West's Mikaela Morgan and Donels exchanged baskets, Southeast Polk led, 40-39, with less than a minute to play.

West went into a motion offense in which everybody touched the ball.

'We've got kids that can score. I just wanted to get the ball moving,' Mayer said.

Said Rams Coach Tracy Dailey: 'We got caught chasing the ball too much, but it's because the girls were working so hard.'

Tauchen made the last pass to a wide-open Craig, who converted with a trey from the wing to put West up, 42-40.

'Every time she shoots and she's open, there's no doubt it's going in,' Lozano-Dobbs said.

Donels missed on a hard drive to the hoop. Craig made the first of two free throws with 7 seconds left for a three-point margin, then Donels eschewed the tying 3-pointer for a late drive to the lane, which missed.

Craig finished with 13 points for the Women of Troy. Morgan added 10 points and seven rebounds.

Southeast Polk was led by Sierra Mitchell's 12 points, all on 3-pointers. Donels added 10 points.

IOWA CITY WEST 43, SOUTHEAST POLK 40 (Class 5A State Quarterfinal)

At Des Moines

SOUTHEAST POLK (40): Shelby Uhl 4-5 1-3 9, Ashton Donels 3-8 3-4 10, Jacey Huinker 0-1 0-0 0, Abby Penquite 2-7 0-0 4, Allee Ira 1-3 0-0 2, Sierra Mitchell 4-8 0-0 12, Casey Stuart 1-4 1-2 3, Anna Zelenovich 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-36 5-9 40.

IOWA CITY WEST (43): Grace Tafolla 2-5 2-3 6, Ali Tauchen 1-2 0-0 2, Dani Craig 4-11 2-3 13, Mikaela Morgan 4-11 2-3 10, Emily Halverson 1-4 0-0 2, Bella Lozano-Dobbs 0-5 2-2 2, Rachael Saunders 2-5 1-1 5, Maddie Huinker 1-1 0-0 3, Logan Cook 0-0 0-0 0, Jessie Harder 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 15-45 9-12 43.

Halftime: SEP 25, West 18. 3-point goals: SEP 5-14 (Donels 1-3, Penquite 0-4, Ira 0-1, Mitchell 4-6), West 4-17 (Tafolla 0-1, Craig 3-7, Morgan 0-3, Lozano-Dobbs 0-2, Saunders 0-2, Huinker 1-1, Harder 0-1). Team fouls: SEP 17, West 13. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: SEP 32 (Huinker 10), West 25 (Morgan 7). Assists: SEP 9 (Huinker 6), West 5 (Craig 2). Steals: SEP 7 (Uhl 3), West 10 (Tafolla 3). Turnovers: SEP 19, West 12.

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