Regina captures another crown

IOWA CITY — Sometimes when things get a bit sideways during practice, Matt Bolger will have his team look toward the rafters.

'It's nice to see all those banners up there,' Bolger said. 'There's a lot of tradition here to uphold.'

Prepare some room for another.

Despite finishing the game with no field goals in the final six-plus minutes, Class 2A second-ranked Iowa City Regina was able to hold off No. 7 West Branch, 37-35, in a River Valley Conference girls' basketball game Tuesday night at Regina High School.

As a result, the Regals (19-0 overall, 16-0 RVC) are league champions for the eighth consecutive year. They have won the first three titles in the RVC South Division. Before that, they won or shared five consecutive Cedar Valley Conference crowns.

And in this league, with this competition, that's saying something.

'A lot of teams in the state have really good records, but they don't play in a league like ours,' said sophomore guard Mary Crompton, who led all scorers with 17 points.

'At Regina, in every sport, we're used to winning. With that comes responsibility and some pressure. But we're willing to take it. We work hard. Our practices are like college practices.'

Crompton's 3-pointer gave the Regals a 36-28 lead with 6:19 left — the largest for either team. The Bears (17-3, 14-3) got closer, though, and had an opportunity at the end, but missed two shots on the final possession.

'The end of the third quarter, that's what hurt us,' said Bears Coach Jarod Tylee, whose squad dropped its second two-pointer this season to the Regals. 'We had it tied, then we turned it over a few times, and that enabled them to take the lead.'

West Branch owned a 36-20 rebounding advantage (24-10 in the second half), but couldn't take full advantage. The Bears shot just 30 percent (13 of 43).

That was the difference, along with excellent ball security by the Regals, who committed just five turnovers.

'Earlier this season, we turned it over a lot more,' Crompton said. 'We thought that would be something that might come back to bite us.'

Crompton was the only player from either team to reach double figures. Sarah Lehman added six points for the Regals.

Haley Poula paced West Branch with nine points. Tatum Koenig added eight points and 11 rebounds, but shot just 2-of-15 from the field.

Boys: Iowa City Regina 55, West Branch 46

With the game tied, 29-29, the RVC South-leading Regals broke it open with a 13-4 run at the end of the third quarter.

Nathan Stenger led all scorers with 25 points. Regina improved to 10-7, overall, 9-5 in the RVC.

Alex Hamer led the Bears (7-12, 5-11) with 14 points. Cooper Kabela added 13.

Girls Box Score

At Iowa City Regina

WEST BRANCH (35): Allyson Simpson 1-8 0-0 2, Tatum Koenig 2-15 2-4 8, Trystin Luneckas 3-5 0-0 6, Haley Mullinix 2-6 0-0 6, Haley Poula 3-7 3-3 9, Paige Miller 1-1 0-0 2, Jenae Murry 1-1 0-0 2, Kara Fountain 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-43 5-7 35.

IOWA CITY REGINA (37): Mary Crompton 7-14 0-0 17, Lauren Gaarde 1-2 0-0 2, Kennedy Brown 2-8 1-4 5, Greyson Dumont 2-4 0-0 5, Cameron Verducci 1-4 0-0 2, Sarah Lehman 2-6 2-4 6, Katharine Dunn 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 15-39 3-8 37.

Halftime: Regina 25, West Branch 22. 3-point goals: West Branch 4-14 (Simpson 0-2, Koenig 2-8, Mullinix 2-4), Regina 4-13 (Crompton 3-8, Gaarde 0-1, Dumont 1-2, Verducci 0-2). Team fouls: West Branch 10, Regina 10. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Regina 36 (Koenig 11), Regina 20 (Brown, Lehman 5). Assists: West Branch 8 (Mullinix 3), Regina 6 (Dumont 3). Steals: West Branch 3 (three with 1), Regina 9 (Verducci 3). Turnovers: West Branch 13, Regina 5.

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