Western Christian kept
finding answers when Pella Christian threatened. The result was the school's
first state championship in girls basketball.
All-tournament captain Brooke Wolterstorff scored 16 points and the fifth-ranked Wolfpack got a major contribution from freshman Jamie Gesink in beating No. 15 Pella Christian 67-57 to win the
Class 2A state championship.
Gesink
scored 14 points, hitting a pair of key 3-pointers in the second half and going
4-for-4 on free throws. Alissa Pollema
and Shae DeJager each
scored 12 points for Western Christian and DeJager
and pulled 11 rebounds.
Western jumped to a 23-8 lead
early in the second quarter and while Pella Christian never led, the Eagles got
back into the game and kept pressure on the Wolfpack
to the end.
Christina Nolte and Tayler Stursma scored 14 points
each to lead Pella Christian. Jasmin Schelhaas added 12 points and six assists for the Eagles,
while Sami Veenstra scored 10 points. Pella Christian
stayed in it with outstanding free throw shooting, making 21 of 23.
In an impressive display of
sportsmanship, the two teams posed for a group photo after the game. They
played during the regular season, Western winning 74-72.
Western Christian won its last 12
games and 15 of the last 16 to finish 25-3. Pella Christian finished 23-4.
Down by 10 at halftime, Pella
Christian started the second half with a 12-4 run to cut the lead to 37-35. Gesink, a 5-foot-8 guard, then hit a 3-pointer to start a
12-2 run that put the Wolfpack ahead 49-37.
But Pella Christian answered
back. Schelhaas scored six points and fed Stursma for a layup during a 12-3 run that cut the lead to
52-49. Gesink stopped that rally with another
3-pointer and the Wolfpack finally pulled away for
good.
Nolte, Schelhaas
and Western Christian's Kim Kroeze joined Wolterstorff on the all-tournament team, which also
included Jessie Pauley of OA-BCIG and Tember Schechinger of IKM-Manning.
Western Christian won its title
with a starting lineup of four juniors and a sophomore. The team had only one
senior, so the Wolfpack should be a threat to repeat
next season.