Crompton shines in her postseason debut

IOWA CITY - Mary Crompton is a dead-eye shooter. And, Tuesday night, a red-eyed shooter.

Crompton overcame a scratched right eye to drain 7 of 8 shots (including 4 of 5 from long range), helping lift 12th-ranked Iowa City Regina to a 43-27 victory over Highland in a Class 2A girls' basketball regional quarterfinal at Regina High School.

'I'm glad she's on my team,” said Regina Coach Matt Bolger. 'She's somebody you can get the ball to. You know she's going to take a good shot, and she sets up her teammates well, too.”

Oh, and she's a freshman who was playing in her first postseason game.

Crompton (18 points) and Cameron Verducci (11) combined for seven 3-pointers as Regina (19-3) advanced to Friday's regional semifinal at home opposite No. 11 Pekin. The Panthers (19-2) whipped Eddyville EBF, 75-38, Tuesday.

One of the state's most accurate shooters from long distance at 45.5 percent, Crompton also was able to drive to the basket for three buckets.

'I don't want people to think of me only as a shooter,” she said.

Crompton was poked in the eye early in the second half. She exited for a bit, came back in, and kept hitting her shots.

'I just got scratched a little,” she said. 'I'll be fine.”

Regina scored 14 straight points to turn a 5-2 deficit into a 16-5 advantage, and it was clear sailing from there. The Regals held Highland (15-8) to 20-percent shooting (9 of 45), contesting nearly every shot and blocking more than a few.

'We needed a good defensive effort, because our offense wasn't clicking very well,” Bolger said. 'We were a little tight.”

The Regals were called for several traveling calls while setting their feet on 3-point shots early in the game. Crompton was whistled on three occasions.

'It goes back to practice,” she said. 'I can't be lazy on my hop. I have to set up quicker so they can't call it.”

Highland got within 26-19 midway through the third quarter, but the Regals scored the next six points to put it away.

'We just weren't very aggressive,” said Huskies Coach Jody Fink. 'We were pretty passive. We didn't get anything going to the basket.”

Chelsey Lampe posted eight points, six rebounds, three assists and four steals for Highland.

IOWA CITY REGINA 43, HIGHLAND 27 (Class 2A Regional Quarterfinal)

At Iowa City Regina

HIGHLAND (27): Cheyann Adamson 3-9 0-0 7, Katie Springer 0-6 0-0 0, Kelsey Hora 1-9 4-4 6, Chelsey Lampe 3-8 1-4 8, Samantha Dutton 1-2 0-2 2, Bridget Murphy 1-8 0-0 3, Madison Klebe 0-0 0-0 0, Kelsey Craig 0-1 0-0 0, Briana Davis 0-1 0-0 0, Cheyenne Neal 0-1 0-0 0, Amy Schnoebelen 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 9-45 6-12 27.

IOWA CITY REGINA (43): Mary Crompton 7-8 0-0 18, Greyson Dumont 0-2 1-2 1, Kennedy Brown 4-11 2-5 10, Cameron Verducci 3-8 2-2 11, Hannah Stein 1-3 1-2 3, Lauren Gaarde 0-5 0-0 0, Megan Wick 0-0 0-0 0, Katharine Dunn 0-3 0-0 0, Christina Hora 0-0 0-0 0, Alexa Lehman 0-0 0-0 0, Sarah Lehman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-40 6-11 43.

Halftime: Regina 20, Highland 12. 3-point goals: Highland 3-16 (Adamson 1-4, Springer 0-2, K.Hora 0-3, Lampe 1-3, Murphy 1-3, Davis 0-1). Regina 7-13 (Crompton 4-5, Verducci 3-7, Gaarde 0-1). Team fouls: Highland 10, Regina 10. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Highland 36 (Dutton 11), Regina 32 (Stein 6). Assists: Highland 7 (Lampe 3), Regina 7 (Brown 3). Steals: Highland 5 (Lampe 4), Regina 9 (three with 2). Turnovers: Highland 18, Regina 14.

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