No. 2 Regals claim early-bird game

CEDAR RAPIDS — Tip time was an unconventional 9:15 a.m.

The Regina Regals got clicking around 9:30.

'Coach (Matt Bolger) stressed that two teams had to be here for that first game, and it was going to come down to who came to play,' said Regina's Cammy Verducci.

The Class 2A second-ranked Regals shook off a chilly start and handled Benton Community, 56-39, at Rivalry Saturday at the U.S. Cellular Center.

Verducci scored 15 points, Mary Crompton tallied 13 and Sarah Lehman posted 11 points and nine rebounds as Regina marched to 10-0.

'We tried to focus ... it was a lot like our state tournament game last year, a 10 o'clock start,' Bolger said. 'Early on, we settled for a lot of 3-pointers.'

Benton (5-6) shot to a 10-2 lead behind 3-pointers by Alyssa Wiebel and freshman Leah Van Weelden. But Regina scored the first eight points of the second quarter for its first lead, 14-12.

The Regals led, 20-17, at intermission, then pulled away after that.

Regina opened the second half with the first eight points, and the margin didn't wander below nine points again. Four different Regals hit 3-pointers in the third quarter, and the margin continued to grow. It got as large as 54-30 late in the game.

'Our defense generates our offense,' Verducci said. 'Our shots weren't falling early on, but our defense started leading to some fast breaks, and that helped.'

Wiebel led the Bobcats with 16 points.

IOWA CITY REGINA 56, BENTON COMMUNITY 39

At U.S. Cellular Center

IOWA CITY REGINA (56): Mary Crompton 6-10 0-0 13, Sarah Lehman 4-14 2-2 11, Greyson Dumont 2-7 3-4 8, Cammy Verducci 6-12 2-4 15, Katie Dunn 0-0 0-0 0, Alexa Lehman 1-1 0-0 2, Kennedy Brown 3-6 1-2 7, Kennedy Wallace 0-1 0-0 0, Megan Wick 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-52 8-12 56.

BENTON COMMUNITY (39): Leah Van Weelden 3-12 0-3 7, Alyssa Wiebel 6-12 1-2 16, Lea Brunssen 0-4 0-0 0, Kassandra McWhorter 3-8 0-1 6, Jessica Heilman 2-6 1-2 5, Jessie Havlik 1-1 0-0 3, Jaicee Lyons 0-4 0-0 0, Karly Miner 0-0 0-0 0, Lillian Wibe 0-0 0-0 0, Molly Schmidt 1-1 0-0 2, Shelby Kaestner 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-50 2-8 39.

Halftime: Regina 20, Benton 17. 3-point goals: Regina 4-12 (Crompton 1-2, S.Lehman 1-5, Dumont 1-2, Verducci 1-2, Wallace 0-1), Benton 5-15 (Van Weelden 1-6, Wiebel 3-6, Brunssen 0-1, McWhorter 0-1, Havlik 1-1). Team fouls: Regina 7, Benton 11. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Regina 33 (S.Lehman 9), Benton 25 (Van Weelden, Heilman 6). Assists: Regina 9 (S.Lehman 4), Benton 11 (Brunssen, Heilman 3). Steals: Regina 5 (S.Lehman 2), Benton 4 (Heilman 2). Turnovers: Regina 8, Benton 13.

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