Estherville-Lincoln
Central's all-senior starting lineup is getting a chance to play one more game
and it will be for a state championship.
Emily Kirchner scored 18 points
and sank six straight clutch free throws in the fourth quarter as the
third-ranked Midgettes avenged one of their losses
with a 49-46 victory over No. 2 MOC-Floyd Valley.
Now, for the second team in three
years, Kirchner and her teammates are in the state finals, this time in Class
3A. They'll play top-ranked and two-time defending champion Davenport
Assumption for the title at 8 o'clock Friday night.
Estherville-Lincoln Central lost in the
Class 2A championship game in 2011.
At 5-feet-8, Kirchner usually is
outsized when she plays inside. But she led her team with eight rebounds,
scored the Midgettes' only field goal of the fourth
quarter on a nifty baseline drive and finished 12-for-12 on free throws.
Allie Sievert
added 15 points for the winners and came up with five steals.
Alexis Conaway had another solid
game for MOC-Floyd Valley, putting up 22 points to go with 12 rebounds and six
steals. Katie Landhuis scored 11 points and Sam Wielenga had six for the Lady Dutch, who were the 3A
runners-up last year.
Estherville-Lincoln
Central trailed 14-6 late in the first quarter, then
stunned the Lady Dutch with a 24-4 run spanning halftime to open a 28-18 lead.
But the Lady Dutch, who beat the Midgettes 42-33 in
the second game of the regular season, were far from finished.
Conaway set up Landhuis for a short jumper, then stole the ball and made a
layup, sparking an 11-2 run that cut the lead 39-38. Estherville-Lincoln
Central responded with steady free throw shooting, making 10 of 12 in the final
2:24 to close it out.
Estherville-Lincoln Central hiked
its record to 23-3, with the two other losses coming to Class 2A finalist
Western Christian. MOC-Floyd Valley finished 24-2, with its other loss also to
Western Christian.