Cougars rally their way to state

IOWA CITY -- The Kennedy Cougars were teetering, their season edging toward oblivion. "We were on life support," acknowledged Coach Tony Vis. "Then Jordan (Holmes) gave us new life." Holmes' deep 3-pointer in the third quarter strengthened Cedar Rapids Kennedy's pulse and ignited a run as the Cougars rallied past 10th-ranked Muscatine, 54-52, in a Class 5A girls' basketball regional final Tuesday night at West High School.Kennedy came back from an eight-point deficit and advanced to the state tournament for the first time since 2010. The Cougars (16-7) will face No. 1 Iowa City High (23-0) in the first round at 5 p.m. next Wednesday at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.City High drubbed Pleasant Valley, 75-47, Tuesday. It wasn't the smooth route to the capital city that the Cougars expected. "We hit a rut late in the season," Holmes said. "But we beat (Cedar Rapids) Prairie (in the regional semifinals Saturday), and thought maybe we had it back a little bit." While the players celebrated, Vis exhaled. "I feel relief more than anything, to be honest," said the second-year Kennedy coach. "There were high expectations coming in, and I think that got to us at times. But after we got through the regular season, I thought good things were coming." Muscatine (19-4) had the Cougars on the mat midway through the third period, building a pair of eight-point leads, the last at 35-27 at the 3:10 mark. But Holmes connected from deep to trigger the comeback. "It was a set play and I was feeling it, so I shot it," she said. Morgan Martin hit a trey of her own less than a minute later to get the Cougars within a point, and the sprint to the finish was on.Muscatine's Emily Clemens converted a three-point play with 3:43 left to give the Muskies their final lead at 43-40, then Kennedy scored three baskets in the next minute for the telling stretch. Madi Meier scored on a drive, then Martin did the same. Meier's offensive rebound and basket put Kennedy in control, 46-43, with 2:43 to go. The Cougars clinched the win at the line, drilling eight of nine free throws. Paige Hendrickson made two with 11 seconds left for an insurmountable 54-49 advantage.A 66-percent foul shooter this season, Hendrickson was 9 of 11 Tuesday. "It's a mental game with me," she said. "In practice, Coach (Joe Benedict) is on me while I'm shooting, saying, 'You can't make it. You can't make it.'  So I've learned to cope with anything." Hendrickson and Martin led the Cougars with 15 points apiece. Holmes added 11, and Stephanie Botkin posted seven points and 10 rebounds.Clemens, a Western Illinois recruit operating on a sprained ankle, still was a handful. She scored 19 points."She was amazing," said Holmes, who spend much of the night tracking her. "She's going to do great things in college." The first half was a back-and-forth affair that ended with the Muskies in front, 23-21. Muscatine scored the first five points of the second half, then extended the lead to eight twice.But, in a microcosm of its season, the Cougars got where they expected. It was just a bumpy road."It doesn't stop here," Martin said. "We'll take (Wednesday) off of practice, then get back to the drawing board."

CEDAR RAPIDS KENNEDY 54, MUSCATINE 52

Class 5A Regional Final, at Iowa City West  

MUSCATINE (52): Emily Clemens 7-13 4-5 19, Katie Shoultz 4-7 1-2 11, Kaylie Miller 0-7 0-0 0, Annabel Graettinger 4-7 1-2 11, Shalyn Greenhaw 4-6 0-0 8, Emily Meeker 1-2 0-0 3, Taylor Livermore 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-42 6-9 52.  

C.R. KENNEDY (54): Madi Meier 2-6 0-1 4, Jordan Holmes 3-8 3-4 11, Paige Hendrickson 3-9 9-11 15, Stephanie Botkin 2-10 3-5 7, Morgan Martin 7-10 0-0 15, Sydney Hayden 0-0 0-0 0, Carly Langhurst 0-0 0-0 0, Brinley Milbrath 1-1 0-1 2, Mariah Vis 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-45 15-22 54.

Halftime: Muscatine 23, Kennedy 21.

3-point goals: Muscatine 6-18 (Clemens 1-3, Shoultz 2-5, Miller 0-4, Graettinger 2-4, Meeker 1-2), Kennedy 3-12 (Meier 0-3, Holmes 2-5, Hendrickson 0-2, Martin 1-1, Vis 0-1).

Team fouls: Muscatine 18, Kennedy 10.

Fouled out: none.

Rebounds: Muscatine 27 (Shoultz 8), Kennedy 31 (Botkin 10).

Assists: Muscatine 8 (three with 2), Kennedy 6 (Meier, Holmes 2).

Steals: Muscatine 2 (Shoultz, Miller), Kennedy 8 (Holmes 5).

Turnovers: Muscatine 12, Kennedy 8.