No. 1 Turkey Valley holds off Mount Ayr, 55-51

DES MOINES — She's a playmaker. A distributor.

And when Turkey Valley needed her most, Shelby Reicks was also a closer.

Reicks made the key plays late as top-ranked Turkey Valley held off Mount Ayr, 55-51, in a Class 1A quarterfinal at the girls' state basketball tournament Monday morning at Wells Fargo Arena.

'Sometimes, that happens,' Reicks said after the Trojans improved to 25-0. 'I really want to get the other girls involved. I kept telling them, we've got to keep going.'

The Trojans kept going, and as a result, their debut appearance at state will be an extended stay. They will face No. 4 Burlington Notre Dame (24-1) in the semifinal round at 10 a.m. Thursday. Notre Dame ousted No. 5 Lansing Kee, 56-44, Monday.

Reicks finished with 17 points, including nine straight for Turkey Valley after Mount Ayr (18-8) had closed within 45-43 with just over 2 minutes left, and also dished out seven assists.

The sequence of the game came late in the fourth quarter. Mount Ayr's Megan Warin drove to the basket, but missed what would have been the game-tying basket. Turkey Valley got out in transition, and Reicks finished with a three-point play for a 48-43 lead with 1:57 left.

Reicks added a bucket from the lane and two free throws for a 52-45 lead, then the Raiderettes scored six quick points to make it 52-51.

After Reicks hit two more foul shots, Kayla Schaufenbuel fronted Mount Ayr post Kelcie Shields and stole the entry pass. Schaufenbuel's free throw with 14 seconds left iced it.

'I kept trying to get around her all game,' Schaufenbuel said. 'It just clicked that time.'

Schaufenbuel added 11 points and helped stake Turkey Valley to an 18-4 advantage in bench points.

Turkey Valley hit 4 of 5 shots from long distance on its way to a 33-25 halftime advantage.

'When we played Springville (at Rivalry Saturday, Jan. 9) at the U.S. Cellular Center, that prepared us for the big stage,' Reicks said.

The margin grew to 10 points twice in the third quarter before Mount Ayr rallied behind Shields, who posted 25 points and 10 rebounds.

'We knew they would press us, so we really had to practice on that,' Shields said. 'We had to make it a half-court game, because their defense wasn't that strong down low.'

Warin added 17 points for the Raiderettes. Morgan Kuennen tallied nine for Turkey Valley.

TURKEY VALLEY 55, MOUNT AYR 51 (Class 1A State Quarterfinal)

At Des Moines

MOUNT AYR (51): Macy Larsen 0-2 2-2 2, Blair Glendenning 0-0 0-0 0, Megan Warin 7-16 2-4 17, Tess Shields 0-2 3-4 3, Kelcie Shields 11-18 3-6 25, Caylie Hickman 0-0 0-0 0, Keirston Klommhaus 0-0 0-0 0, Kirsten Dolecheck 1-1 0-0 2, Sara Winemiller 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 20-42 10-16 51.

TURKEY VALLEY (55): Macie Njus 2-3 0-0 4, Shelby Reicks 5-12 6-7 17, Sadie Nymeyer 1-8 2-4 5, Morgan Kuennen 4-11 0-0 9, Delaney Lensing 1-3 0-0 2, Kayla Schaufenbuel 5-9 1-3 11, Taylor Kuennen 0-1 0-0 0, Emily Busta 3-7 0-1 7. Totals 21-54 9-15 55.

Halftime: Turkey Valley 33, Mount Ayr 25. 3-point goals: Mount Ayr 1-5 (Larsen 0-2, Warin 1-3), Turkey Valley 4-9 (Reicks 1-1, Nymeyer 1-3, M.Kuennen 1-1, Busta 1-4). Team fouls: Mount Ayr 16, Turkey Valley 15. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Mount Ayr 38 (K.Shields 10), Turkey Valley 28 (Busta 6). Assists: Mount Ayr 10 (T.Shields 4), Turkey Valley 12 (Reicks 7). Steals: Mount Ayr 4 (Winemiller 2), Turkey Valley 11 (Reicks, M.Kuennen, Schaufenbuel 2). Turnovers: Mount Ayr 21, Turkey Valley 10.

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