Springville survives, returns to state

NORTH ENGLISH — At this point, it shouldn't be easy. And for the Springville Orioles, it sure wasn't.

Third-ranked Springville built a 16-point lead, then held on for dear life to edge No. 9 Montezuma, 41-37, in a Class 1A girls' basketball regional final Monday night at English Valleys High School.

'It feels awesome to get back to state,' sophomore guard Rylee Menster said. 'We've been waiting for this a whole year.'

Last year's 1A runner-up, Springville (23-1) will meet No. 6 Kingsley-Pierson (21-2) in a quarterfinal at 1:30 p.m. next Monday at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

'We want to go back and finish what we started,' said senior Megan Wagaman.

An 8-14 outfit a year ago, Montezuma finished the season at 22-2. The Bravettes were more than a worthy opponent for the Orioles, and had them on their heels much of the final 2 1/2 quarters.

'We got behind, and we had to stay focused,' said Montezuma's Katie Maschmann, who hit four 3-pointers to spur the Bravettes' comeback. 'Once we saw they were jumping the passing lanes, we knew what we had to do.'

It looked like a runaway early. The Orioles held Montezuma without a field goal for a nine-minute stretch in the first half, building a 17-3 lead, then 22-6.

But the Bravettes got within 22-13 by halftime, and continued the rally after intermission.

'We got some good shots, but we tightened up a little bit,' Springville Coach Nate Sanderson said. 'Their defensive pressure caused us some anxiety.'

So did their outside shooting. Shelby Helm hit a 3-pointer to make it 35-33, then Maschmann hit another to bring the Bravettes within 37-36 with 2:58 to go.

Madi Wagaman's basket pushed the lead to three, then Maschmann's free throw made it 39-37.

The Orioles missed three straight free throws to give Montezuma a window, but the Bravettes missed a potential go-ahead 3-pointer, then the follow.

Megan Wagaman got the rebound and iced it with two free throws.

'We got a little shook up, but we knew that if we did what we do, it would pull it out for us,' Wagaman said. 'They hit a better percentage from 3-point range than they usually do, and we had to combat that.'

Menster led all scorers with 18 points. Mikayla Nachazel overcame illness to add 11 points. Megan Wagaman posted seven points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Alyssa Jaeger also grabbed 10 rebounds as Springville built a 38-20 advantage on the boards.

Maschmann paces Montezuma with 17 points. Helm added nine, and Breck Goodmann tacked on eight points and nine rebounds.

SPRINGVILLE 41, MONTEZUMA 37

At North English

MONTEZUMA (37): Katie Maschmann 4-12 5-6 17, Aliya Pargeon 1-2 0-0 3, Shelby Helm 3-10 0-0 9, Saphire Gatton 0-3 0-0 0, Breck Goodman 2-7 4-5 8, Riley Gatton 0-0 0-0 0, Hanna Jones 0-1 0-0 0, Cassidy Watts 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 10-36 9-11 37.

SPRINGVILLE (41): Megan Wagaman 2-6 2-2 7, Rylee Menster 8-15 1-2 18, Alyssa Jaeger 1-2 1-3 3, Madi Wagaman 1-4 0-0 2, Mikayla Nachazel 5-17 1-3 11, Chrissy Hoogland 0-2 0-0 0, Nichole Kane 0-0 0-0 0, Sydney Williams 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-46 5-10 41.

Halftime: Springville 22, Montezuma 13. 3-point goals: Montezuma 8-23 (Maschmann 4-11, Pargeon 1-1, Helm 3-10, Watts 0-1), Springville 2-5 (Meg.Wagaman 1-3, Menster 1-2). Team fouls: Montezuma 14, Springville 14. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Montezuma 20 (Goodman 9), Springville 38 (Meg.Wagaman, Jaeger 10). Assists: Montezuma 8 (R.Gatton 3), Springville 11 (Meg.Wagaman 6). Steals: Montezuma 6 (S.Gatton 3), Springville 16 (Menster, Mad.Wagaman 5). Turnovers: Montezuma 19, Springville 18.

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