Newell-Fonda sprints past Montezuma in girls' state basketball semifinals

DES MOINES — Here we go again. The rematch that everyone expected is all systems go.

Tenacious and relentless, second-ranked Newell-Fonda ran No. 6 Montezuma ragged, sprinting to a 73-34 Class 1A semifinal victory at the girls' state basketball tournament Friday afternoon at Wells Fargo Arena.

And when it was over, Montezuma Coach Janel Burgess heaped praise on the two-time defending-champion Mustangs.

'They're all a bunch of athletic, lanky, 5-foot-9 kids that fit in that system,' Burgess said.

And that system is something else. As they have for the better part of the past two decades, Newell-Fonda (24-1) runs and presses and wears opponents out with pace.

'(Montezuma) has good shooters, and we were able to neutralize that, wear their legs out a little bit,' Newell-Fonda Coach Dick Jungers said. 'I'm very pleased with our defensive intensity.'

So the 2021 state tournament will conclude Saturday night with, arguably, the most riveting of the five championships; Newell-Fonda faces No. 1 Algona Garrigan (24-1) at 6:30.

'It's two teams that are playing great basketball,' Jungers said. 'Whoever establishes what they want to do will be successful.'

Newell-Fonda edged Garrigan in last year's title game, 65-63. The Golden Bears defeated the Mustangs, 66-45, Dec. 10.

The Mustangs entered the state tournament averaging 80.7 points per game, and were on that pace early, leading 28-10 after a quarter and 42-20 at halftime.

'They're all the same player. They all can shoot a high percentage,' Montezuma's Elise Boulton said. 'They have basically the same athletic ability and they're all threats on offense.'

And they come at you in waves. None of the Mustangs played more than 19 minutes. Ten of them scored, four in double digits, led by Bailey Sievers' 15 points.

'They're way faster than any team we've ever played before,' said Montezuma's Kierstyn Price. 'They put all kinds of pressure on you and try to steal the ball. That's something we've never come against before.'

Newell-Fonda collected 17 steals.

'I think we did all right against the press, but they come at you hard in the quarter-court game too,' Burgess said.

Montezuma finished 23-2. The Bravettes are 88-11 in Burgess' four years, with four state appearances.

NEWELL-FONDA 73, MONTEZUMA 34

Class 1A State Semifinal, at Des Moines

MONTEZUMA (34): Shanae Wetering 1-9 1-2 3, Kierstyn Price 2-5 2-2 7, Mia Boulton 1-9 2-2 5, Elise Boulton 3-6 1-3 9, Dylan Holland 1-5 2-2 4, Madison Johannes 0-0 1-1 1, Jadyn Sharer 0-3 3-4 3, Alyssa Cline 0-0 0-0 0, Jordan Ranfeld 0-0 0-0 0, Alivia Cline 0-0 0-0 0, Abby Cheney 0-0 0-0 0, Laila Kercheval 0-0 0-0 0, Kallie Robison 1-1 0-0 2, Korrinn Kehoe 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 9-38 12-18 34.

NEWELL-FONDA (73): Bailey Sievers 6-9 2-5 15, Macy Sievers 6-9 0-0 12, Maggie Walker 4-9 1-1 11, Ella Larsen 2-5 0-0 5, Ellie Lago 1-2 0-0 3, Anna Bellcock 0-1 0-0 0, Mary Walker 5-11 1-2 12, McKenna Sievers 0-1 0-0 0, Nevaeh Lyman 0-0 0-0 0, Laneu Hogrefe 1-4 0-1 2, Kierra Jungers 3-5 0-0 6, Isabel Bartek 2-6 0-0 4, Audrey Kosky 0-1 0-0 0, Paige Roberts 1-3 0-0 3, Emma Erickson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 31-67 4-9 73.

Halftime: Newell-Fonda 42, Montezuma 20. 3-point goals: Montezuma 4-14 (Wetering 0-2, Price 1-2, M. Boulton 1-8, E. Boulton 2-2), Newell-Fonda 7-31 (B. Sievers 1-2, Macy Sievers 0-2, Maggie Walker 2-6, Larsen 1-3, Lago 1-2, Bellcock 0-1, Mary Walker 1-5, McKenna Sievers 0-1, Jungers 0-1, Bartek 0-3, Kosky 0-1, Roberts 1-3, Erickson 0-1). Team fouls: Montezuma 10, Newell-Fonda 18. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Montezuma 32 (Wetering 6), Newell-Fonda 36 (Larsen 8). Assists: Montezuma 6 (E. Boulton 3), Newell-Fonda 20 (Macy Sievers 6). Steals: Montezuma 4 (Price), Newell-Fonda 17 (B. Sievers 4). Turnovers: Montezuma 25, Montezuma 8.

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