Cascade girls too much for Regina

TIPTON -- For much of last night's Class 2A regional final, it appeared Iowa City Regina had undefeated No. 2 Cascade on the ropes. Then the Cougars displayed the kind of fight and resilience indicative of their 25-0 record.In a game that featured nine ties and 10 lead changes, Cascade scored 22 points in the fourth quarter and pulled away from the Regals, 51-46, at Tipton Middle School. "Great, great high school game," Cascade Coach Mike Sconsa said. "Great environment, loud, both teams got into it. Somehow we were able to get stops finally and hit some free throws. It was a huge, huge, huge game." A 3A state semifinalist last season, the Cougars are headed back to the state tournament for the second year in a row in their first season in 2A. Cascade opens state play against Manson-NW Webster (20-4) at 5 p.m. next Monday at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.It was the second meeting between the River Valley Conference division winners in less than a month (a 60-34 blowout by Cascade on Feb. 4).  Junior Carolyn Trumm paced the Cougars with a game-high 17 points and 12 rebounds. Abbey Meyer's six fourth-quarter free throws helped ice the game that Cascade mostly trailed. "Oh, that was crazy. I guess those are the fun ones," Meyer said. "You really find out the tougher team in those situations." Cascade bottled up Regina's leading scorer Jenna Lehman, who entered the game averaging 16 points per contest. Lehman was shut out in the first half, but briefly rebounded with three 3-pointers in a three-and-a-half minute stretch in the third quarter. At that point, Sconsa switched up the Cougars' defense to a diamond-and-one, and Lehman failed to score again. "She's just so tough with the ball," Sconsa said of Lehman. "And when her feet are set, she's tough." Lehman's teammates managed to pick up much of the slack, as senior Katie Wick poured in 16 points and pulled down nine rebounds.  Her sophomore sister Jenny Wick drilled a 3-pointer to beat the halftime buzzer, sending the Regals to the locker room up 21-18.Lehman's lone offensive flurry kept the Regals ahead 32-29 at the end of three quarters, but Meyer tied the game with a three-point play to start the fourth. With 5:27 remaining in the game, Cascade took a 36-34 lead -- its first since the first quarter -- on a basket by Trumm. With the game tied at 40-40, Bailey Holmes' second 3-pointer of the half gave Cascade the lead for good with 2:35 to go. After a tough rebound and putback from Trumm, Cascade scored its final six points from the free-throw line. "We just needed to settle down," Trumm said. "I'm so excited, I can't wait to go back (to state)."Regina ends at 18-6."We battled, we fought, never gave up," Regina Coach Clark Anderson said. "Thought we had them on the ropes, just couldn't finish. That's life. We've got to accept it, and move on with it."

AT TIPTON

IOWA CITY

REGINA (46): Katie Wick 5 6-9 16, Nicole Becker 0 0-0 0, Hannah Seaman 0 0-0 0, Jenna Lehman 3 0-1 9, Hannah Stein 1 5-6 7, Kennedy Brown 1 4-6 6, Cameron Verducci 2 0-0 5, Jenny Wick 1 0-0 3. Totals 13 15-22 46.

CASCADE (51): Abbey Meyer 2 9-10 13, Holly Hunt 0 2-2 2, Elle Hoffman 2 0-0 4, Mallory McDermott 0 0-0 0, Carolyn Trumm 8 1-5 17, Megan McDermott 0 0-0 0, Katie Soliday 0 0-0 0, Bailey Holmes 2 0-0 6, Katelyn Coyle 0 0-0 0, Claire Molony 4 1-1 9. Totals 18 13-18 51.

Halftime: Regina 21, Cascade 18.

3-point goals: Regina 5 (Lehman 3, Verducci, J.Wick), Cascade 2 (Holmes 2).

Team fouls: Regina 20, Cascade 22.

Fouled out: None.

Rebounds: Regina 24 (K.Wick 9), Cascade 24 (Trumm 12).

Assists: Regina 10 (Verducci 3), Cascade 12 (Meyer 3, Trumm 3).

Turnovers: Regina 21, Cascade 17.