After a second-place finish a
year ago, Iowa West took it all the way to the top this time.
The second-ranked Women of Troy
regrouped after letting a 12-point slip away and beat No. 4 Ankeny 61-56 in
overtime to win the Class 4A championship.
After regulation play ended
in a tie at 52, West scored the first eight points of
the overtime and held on to win its first girls basketball title. West had
never played in the state tournament until last year, when the Women of Troy
lost to Des Moines East in the championship game.
Tatum Klein led West with 17 points, including a 3-pointer with 19 seconds
left that tied the score and produced overtime. Shelly Stumpff added 16 points
and nine rebounds for the Women of Troy and Ally Disterhoft scored 12.
Maddie Manning had 24 points
and nine rebounds in a strong performance for Ankeny, which rallied after
trailing by 12 points in the first half and by six in the fourth quarter. Her
two free throws gave the Hawkettes a 52-49 lead with 35.1 seconds remaining.
But Klein found an opening
on the perimeter and tied it with a clutch shot.
Shayla Starkenburg scored
11 points for Ankeny, while teammate Madi Robson had eight points and seven
rebounds. Ankeny was hurt when Manning, who has signed with Oklahoma, fouled
out with 1:22 left in the overtime.
Stumpff's free throw in
overtime put West ahead to stay and Mckenzie Piper
slipped under the basket to make a reverse layup, giving her team a 55-52 lead.
The Women of Troy then wrapped up the victory by making six of 10 free throws.
West finished with a 25-1
record, the only loss coming to Class 3A champion Davenport Assumption. Ankeny,
which has won nine state titles, lost in the championship game for only the
second time and finished 22-4.
Manning was named captain
of the all-tournament team and was joined on that unit by teammate Krista
Pettepier, Klein, Disterhoft, Southeast Polk's Caitlin Ingle and Waukee's
Britney Boland.