Cascade 56, Hinton 43

Unranked but unbeaten in the postseason, Cascade is writing quite a story in tournament play.

The Cougars earned a shot at winning their first state championship by knocking off sixth-ranked and previously unbeaten Hinton 56-43 Thursday in the Class 2A semifinals.

In the state tournament for just the second time, Cascade will play third-ranked IKM-Manning in the title game at 8 p.m. Friday. Cascade stunned No. 1-ranked MFL-Mar-Mac in its regional final, then beat Denver in the first round at state before defeating Hinton with another solid defensive performance.

In its last three games, Cascade has allowed an average of just 38 points.

Amber Meyer led the way for the Cougars on Thursday, scoring 16 points and making 11 of 12 free throws in the final 3:22 to keep Cascade in front. She also came up with a big steal during that stretch, when Hinton was fighting to get back into the game after struggling through the first three quarters.

Haylee Hoffman added 13 points for Cascade, which is now 24-3, and Chanda Goedken contributed 10rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Mackenzie Small and Ashton Moody led Hinton with 13 points each and Britni Freed scored 11. The Blackhawks finished 25-1.

Cascade took charge early, jumping to a 15-3 lead and building its margin to 20 early in the second half. The Cougars led 40-22 heading into the fourth quarter before Hinton started chipping away by getting to the free throw line.

The Blackhawks drew to 47-43 when Moody hit a 3-pointer with 1:41 left, but they could get no closer, mainly because of Meyer. The 5-foot-4 junior sank two free throws to blunt the comeback, then stole the ball, got fouled and made another free for a 50-43 lead with 1:27 to play.

The Cougars followed with six more free throws -- four by Meyer -- to finish it off.