Worth County’s girls completed their sweep of Iowa foes Sunday, turning back Diagonal 63-22 following a 28-18 victory over Southwest Valley earlier in the afternoon. There was reason to be concerned about the encounter as Diagonal had thrown a scare into Valley in the second game. The Maroons jumped out to an 11-6 lead early before giving up 17 straight points to fall behind 23-11. But then they fought back to make it a five point game several times and four once before a costly turnover helped preserve Southwest Valley’s 44-38 victory. Worth County had beaten Diagonal by 20 earlier this summer; however, they had beaten King City 52-36 in Stanberry January only to lose in overtime to them in King City later in the season.
But the Tigers had clearly learned their lesson from the King City games. This time, they scored early and often in jumping out to a 17-2 lead. They turned back several Maroon attempts to rally before pulling away in the second half for the 63-22 victory.
Kristin New opened up the scoring with a 3-pointer at the 19:35 mark. Both teams spent the next few minutes trying to feel each other out, but then Regan Allee and Anna Gladstone got consecutive steals and the Tigers were off to the races. Regan Allee got a putback after a steal and the Tigers were up 9-0.
#24 cut Diagonal’s deficit to 9-2 with a drive, but Jessi Badell got a putback and Anna Gladstone led Kristin New perfectly in transition. Anna got a tip and Kristin New a steal and Gladstone got one of her own to make it 17-2.
The second group came in and the Maroons chipped away, using their six-footer, #15, to good effect as they got it down to 19-10. But then the second and third groups got it going as Merrideth Spiers got a putback and Justina Wimer, the littlest player on the court, faked out a player and drove to the middle of the lane for a pullup to make it 23-10. The first string came in as Jessi Badell got another putback and Kristin New a drive on a third chance possession to make it 27-10. Worth County was able to work the boards at will despite the taller Maroon squad; they were able to get 41 boards for the afternoon.
Diagonal cut the deficit to 28-13 at the half, but then Anna Gladstone hit Jessi Badell backdoor to start the scoring. Then, Anna got a block, starting a break that led to a Gladstone putback on the other end to make it 32-13. Diagonal hung around for a while, keeping it at 40-22 at the 12:09 mark, but the Maroons would not score another point.
Meanwhile, Worth County, which couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn in the first game, saw everything go in during that stretch. Jenna Smith hit Merrideth Spiers in the high post. Jenna got an offensive board and was hammered, converting it to two free throws. Anna got a steal and then Aivry Griffin faded to the corner and got a pass from Kristin New for a 3-pointer. On the next play, Griffin came through again, stuffing a shot that turned into a break on the other end as Anna Gladstone finished for the layup.
Anna went coast to coast and scored off yet another steal before she was done. Jill Hardy got a putback and got loose in transition on another play. Jenna Smith took one straight down the middle for a layup and then led Aivry Griffin perfectly on another play for a layup for Worth County’s final tally.
Nine different Tigers scored, led by Anna Gladstone with 15 after getting 17 the previous game. Kristin New had 12, Jill Hardy 9, Jessi Badell and Merrideth Spiers 6 each, Aivry Griffin 5, Regan Allee and Jenna Smith 4, and Justina Wimer 2.
Jenna Smith had one body slam of a Diagonal player who pinned her down during a ball scramble and wouldn’t let her get back up again.
Kaylee McElvain had 2 blocks for the Tigers. Merrideth Spiers, Aivry Griffin, and Anna Gladstone each had 1.
All 12 Tigers who dressed out Sunday got boards. Anna Gladstone, Jenna Smith, and Merrideth Spiers all had 6 boards. Jill Hardy and Kaylee McElvain had 5, Jill Hardy, Megan Cassavaugh, and Justina Wimer each had 3, while Regan Allee, EmiLee Brown, Kristin New, and Aivry Griffin each had 1.
Nine different Tigers had tips. Kristin New and Kaylee McElvain had 6 each. Anna Gladstone had 4, Jenna Smith and Regan Allee had 3, Megan Cassavaugh 2, and Justina Wimer, Jessi Badell, and Jill Hardy each had 1.
Anna Gladstone had 8 steals for the Tigers after also getting 8 the previous game. Regan Allee had 5, Kaylee McElvain 4, Megan Cassavaugh 2, and Kristin New, Merrideth Spiers, Jill Hardy, and Jessi Badell 1.
Regan Allee had 6 assists for the Tigers. Kristin New had 3, and Anna Gladstone and Jenna Smith 2 each.
The Tigers have been flying high during their summer outings. They took 15 out of 16 at a camp in Central. They knocked off East Atchison, who had beaten them in Burlington Junction in January, handily despite not having Regan Allee; they also beat Shenandoah. They also ran the table at a shootout in Jefferson, knocking off NEN, Jefferson and another team.
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