Nevada stops CPU in 3A semifinals

DES MOINES — Lexy Koudelka's 3-point resume was limited. But she was hot, and she was open, so she gave it a whirl.

'I shoot them every day in practice, and I was wide open, so I let it go,' she said.

Koudelka broke the game open — and escaped her coach's ire — by hitting the long-distance shot, and third-ranked Nevada tripped No. 2 Center Point-Urbana, 47-41, in a Class 3A semifinal at the girls' state basketball tournament Thursday night at Wells Fargo Arena.

The defending-champion Cubs (23-3) shoot for a repeat at 4 p.m. Saturday, when they face No. 1 Pocahontas Area (26-0).

It's a championship-game rematch. Nevada won last year, 58-54, then Poky claimed a regular-season meeting earlier this season.

Pocahontas Area advanced Thursday with a 102-91 triumph over No. 4 Cherokee.

'They're a great team, but our kids love a challenge,' Cubs Coach Kristin Meyer said.

Center Point-Urbana retired at 24-2. The Stormin' Pointers climbed out of a nine-point second-quarter deficit to draw even twice in the second half, but never claimed the lead.

'We put ourselves in position, and we had our chances, but we came up a little short,' CPU Coach Philip Klett said.

Arika Wooldridge scored 20 points and Allison Wooldridge added 13 for CPU. The sisters combined for the Stormin' Pointers' final 24 points, including all 21 in the second half.

Allison Wooldridge, a sophomore, made two free throws to get CPU even at 33-33 with 1:40 left in the third quarter, then Arika Wooldridge, a senior, scored from the wing to tie it at 35-all with less than 6 minutes remaining.

Koudelka's three-point play put the Cubs in front, 39-35 with 2:50 left. After Allison Wooldridge's basket made it 39-37, Koudelka found herself open in the left corner with 1:50 left.

She had taken only six 3-pointers all season, making three. She took this one, and made it.

'It was ill-advised,' Meyer said. 'If she wouldn't have made it, I would have been very unhappy. Good thing she did.'

Koudelka led all scorers with 21 points.

Allison Wooldridge picked up two fouls in the first 90 seconds of the game, and that made life tough for CPU against Nevada's size.

'I know I was nervous to pass the ball inside, as long as they were,' said CPU senior Payton Hasleiet. 'That makes it tough, when our best players are our posts.'

'(Nevada) kept getting second-chances,' Arika Wooldridge said. 'We weren't playing our kind of defense.'

CPU made it to state in 2014, then fell in the regional finals last year. Since then, this was their mission.

Accompished? Sort of.

'I got to play with a great group of girls,' Hasleiet said. 'It hurts right now. The only way it would have felt better is if we'd won it all.'

NEVADA 47, CENTER POINT-URBANA 41 (Class 3A State Semifinal)

At Des Moines

NEVADA (47): Claire Ausman 1-6 1-2 4, Abby Stephenson 3-5 3-5 9, Lexy Koudelka 7-9 6-8 21, Alli Fay 1-6 3-5 5, Kati Cassabaum 3-7 0-0 6, Izzy Kapustka 0-0 0-0 0, Hattie Rhodes 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 16-34 13-20 47.

CENTER POINT-URBANA (41): Allison Wooldridge 5-9 2-2 13, Payton Hasleiet 0-2 1-2 1, LaMia Sisk 1-7 1-2 3, Olivia Brecht 0-6 0-0 0, Arika Wooldridge 7-14 6-6 20, Madie Willson 0-1 0-0 0, Sydney Boevers 0-1 0-0 0, Callyn Fox 1-2 0-0 2, Claire Holtz 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 15-43 10-12 41.

Halftime: Nevada 23, CPU 20. 3-point goals: Nevada 2-12 (Ausman 1-5, Stephenson 0-1, Koudelka 1-1, Fey 0-5), CPU 1-15 (Al.Wooldridge 1-1, Hasleiet 0-1, Sisk 0-3, Brecht 0-5, Ar.Wooldridge 0-4, Willson 0-1). Team fouls: Nevada 11, CPU 19. Fouled out: Al.Wooldridge. Rebounds: Nevada 27 (Cassabaum 7), CPU 24 (Ar.Wooldridge 7). Assists: Nevada 10 (Stephenson 4), CPU 3 (three with 1). Steals: Nevada 9 (Cassabaum 4), CPU 10 (Hasleiet, Ar.Wooldridge 3). Turnovers: Nevada 18, CPU 13.

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