Orioles get the last word

IOWA CITY - The Springville Orioles hadn't faced a man-to-man defense all season. At times, it showed.

So Coach Nate Sanderson simplified everything down the stretch.

'The last 6 minutes, I didn't call a play,” Sanderson said. 'I said, ‘Just go play.'”

Go play. Go win.

The 11th-ranked Orioles scored the final six points and outlasted No. 10 Lynnville-Sully, 45-40, in a seesaw Class 1A girls' basketball regional final Monday night at West High School.

'It's a night I'm been dreaming about for 13 years,” Sanderson said. 'So happy for these kids. (Seniors Sarah) Matus and Rachel (Gloeckner), they've probably taken 40,000 shots each the last four years. To see that all pay off for them, it's pretty special.”

The Orioles (21-3) advance to the the state tournament at Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, and will play at 3:15 p.m. Monday against No. 4 Fremont-Mills (23-1).

It's Springville's first trip to Des Moines since 2009. Matus was there.

'I was a ball girl,” she recalled. 'I got to sit on the bench with them once. When they got to state, I thought one day I would get there.”

That day is less than a week away.

The game contained 10 lead changes. Shelby Davis put Lynnville-Sully (22-2) in front, 40-39, by cleaning up her own miss with 52 seconds left, but freshman Rylee Menster answered with a baseline drive to give the Orioles the lead for good.

'Coach always tells me to go baseline,” Menster said. 'It just went in.”

Menster located Mikayla Nachazel under the basket for an easy basket to make it 43-40 with 12 seconds left, then Davis missed a 3-pointer that would have tied it.

Matus iced it with two free throws, and the Orioles' final five-point margin was their largest of the game.

It was Springville's 24th game of the season. The previous 23 opponents were predominantly zone defenders.

'We do the same offense against man and zone,” Matus said. 'There's a little difference on where we have to screen, but that's about the only difference.”

Both teams missed a lot of easy shots. But the Orioles converted when they needed to at the end.

The quick-handed Menster led all scorers with 13 points and collected five steals. Matus hit 3 of 4 shots from distance and added 11 points.

'When I catch the ball, I'm ready to shoot,” she said.

Lynnville-Sully's Brenna Lanser registered 10 points and 13 rebounds.

The Hawks put together a pair of 8-0 runs in the first half and held a 20-19 edge at halftime.

Matus and Menster hit back-to-back treys to give Springville a 29-25 lead, then Kasiah Ehresman and Madison Rasmsson did likewise to swing the lead back to Lynnville-Sully.

Matus' final 3-pointer game the Orioles a 39-35 advantage with 3:00 left, but Lanser answered with her own triple, then Davis' putback gave Lynnville-Sully the lead before Springville spoke last.

Springville had gone through five straight losing seasons since its back-to-back state trips.

'We're just so much more balanced offensively now,” Matus said. 'We got it done tonight. You don't have to win pretty in the playoffs. You just have to find a way to win.”

SPRINGVILLE 45, LYNNVILLE-SULLY 40 (Class 1A Regional Final)

SPRINGVILLE (45): Megan Wagaman 1-3 0-0 2, Rylee Menster 5-8 2-3 13, Sarah Matus 3-7 2-2 11, Rachel Gloeckner 2-6 0-0 5, Mikayla Nachazel 4-10 0-4 8, Alyssa Jaeger 1-6 0-0 2, Chrissy Hoogland 0-1 0-0 0, Madi Wagaman 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 18-43 4-9 45.

LYNNVILLE-SULLY (40): Madison Rasmusson 3-13 0-0 9, Brenna Lanser 2-8 5-6 10, Kasiah Ehresman 2-5 0-0 5, Marissa Vos 0-5 1-4 1, Lysandra James 2-3 3-6 7, Shelby Davis 4-8 0-0 8, Makenzy Rosendaal 0-0 0-0 0, Jelissa Rosendaal 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-42 9-16 40.

Halftime: Lynnville-Sully 20, Springville 19. 3-point goals: Springville 5-8 (Menster 1-1, Matus 3-4, Gloeckner 1-3), Lynnville-Sully 5-16 (Rasmusson 3-12, Lanser 1-2, Ehresman 1-2). Team fouls: Springville 13, Lynnville-Sully 11. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Springville 28 (Meg.Wagaman, Nachazel 6), Lynnville-Sully 34 (Lanser 13). Assists: Springville 7 (Meg.Wagaman 3), Lynnville-Sully 7 (Ehresman, Davis 2). Steals: Springville 8 (Menster 5), Lynnville-Sully 7 (Lanser 3). Turnovers: Springville 15, Lynnville-Sully 13.

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