Valley beats West from the line

DES MOINES — Iowa City West's hopes for a spot in the state finals got trampled by a parade.

A free-throw parade.

Top-ranked West Des Moines Valley went to the line 39 times (making 28), and was the better of two cold shooting teams, 57-41, in a Class 5A semifinal at the girls' state basketball tournament Friday afternoon at Wells Fargo Arena.

'Our shots weren't falling, so we had to score in other ways,' said Valley's Grace Vander Weide. 'This team is capable of finding ways to win. Sometimes it isn't pretty, but ugly or pretty, we found a way to win.'

The outcome ensured an all-CIML championship game for the third straight year. Valley (23-2) will face No. 2 Waukee for the crown at 8 p.m. Saturday. Waukee eliminated defending champion West Des Moines Dowling, 42-32, Friday.

West was the last team to break the CIML monopoly, capturing the big-school championship in 2012. This year's Women of Troy bowed out at 22-3.

'The first half, we had the opportunity to do a lot of things, but we turned it over too much (14 times),' said West Coach B.J. Mayer.

'If we'd have gotten 10 more shots, that's 8-10 more points, and all of a sudden we're up double digits at halftime, and they have a bigger hill to climb.'

As it was, West held just a 20-17 advantage at intermission as the Tigers shot 4-of-24 from the floor.

It didn't take Valley long to change that. The Tigers started the third quarter with a 9-2 run for a 26-22 lead, and maintained the upper hand the rest of the way.

West still had a fighting chance when Dani Craig converted a traditional three-point play with 5:33 left, bringing the Women of Troy within 38-35.

But Valley scored the next 10 points, and the margin remained in double figures the rest of the way.

Both teams were chilly from the floor: Valley finished at 31 percent (13 of 42) while West shot 28 percent (15 of 54).

The difference came from the stripe, where the Tigers accumulated a 28-7 advantage.

'They got to the line more. They were a lot more aggressive than us,' Mayer said. 'It wasn't a lack of effort on our part. They didn't want to quit playing.'

West had reached the state tournament three straight years (2011-13), then slipped to 12-11 last year before bouncing back this season.

'It was great to get back here,' said West's Grace Tafolla. 'We had our ups and downs this week, but a lot of teams would have traded places with our spot.'

Craig led the Women of Troy with 15 points. Tafolla added nine, Mikaela Morgan seven.

Vander Weide registered 18 points and 10 rebounds for Valley. Whitney Fulled added 12 points, 10 from the line.

WEST DES MOINES VALLEY 57, IOWA CITY WEST 41 (Class 5A State Semifinal)

At Des Moines

IOWA CITY WEST (41): Bella Lozano-Dobbs 0-0 0-0 0, Grace Tafolla 3-9 2-2 9, Ali Tauchen 2-4 0-1 4, Dani Craig 6-16 1-3 15, Mikaela Morgan 3-10 1-4 7, Maddie Fay 0-0 0-0 0, Rachael Saunders 0-6 1-2 1, Katie McGrane 0-0 0-0 0, Maddie Huinker 1-4 0-0 3, Logan Cook 0-1 2-2 2, Jessie Harder 0-3 0-0 0, Andrea Morgan 0-0 0-0 0, Emily Halverson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 15-54 7-14 41.

WEST DES MOINES VALLEY (57): Whitney Fuller 1-4 10-14 12, Grace Vander Weide 5-16 7-8 18, Emily Smith 1-1 0-0 2, Hannah Fuller 3-5 1-3 8, Lexi Merritt 1-6 2-2 5, Casey Carr 0-0 0-0 0, Leah Lodermeier 0-0 1-2 1, Jadyn Loecke 0-0 0-0 0, Jackie Feldt 0-2 2-2 2, Jamie Feldt 0-0 0-0 0, Kelcie Hale 0-1 2-2 2, Courtney Carr 2-7 3-6 7, Alayna Meeks 0-0 0-0 0, Mackenzie Ward 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-42 28-39 57.

Halftime: West 20, Valley 17. 3-point goals: West 4-22 (Tafolla 1-6, Craig 2-7, Morgan 0-2, Saunders 0-2, Huinker 1-3, Harder 0-2), Valley 3-18 (W.Fuller 0-3, Vander Weide 1-7, E.Fuller 1-1, Merritt 1-4, Jac.Feldt 0-1, Hale 0-1, Co.Carr 0-1). Team fouls: West 26, Valley 18. Fouled out: Lozano-Dobbs, Tauchen. Rebounds: West 38 (Tauchen 11), Valley 40 (Vander Weide 10). Assists: West 5 (five with 1), Valley 6 (W.Fuller 4). Steals: West 6 (Tafolla 3), Valley 8 (Jac.Feldt 4). Turnovers: West 20, Valley 15.

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