DES MOINES — Cora Widel could feel it.
With five seconds left in the third quarter of the Class 3A title game at the IGHSAU state basketball tournament, Widel, a 6-foot-1 Maquoketa senior, caught the ball on the left wing and put up a 3-pointer against defending champion Mount Vernon. The ball went through the net with two ticks left on the clock to break a 40-40 tie.
The basket sparked a 19-2 run to end the game and give Maquoketa a 59-42 victory on Friday, March 6, claiming the program’s first state championship.
“I just felt like everything was kind of going our way,” Widel said. “Our whole team was doing a great job working together and once I hit that, I knew it was our game.”
Maelyn Kluever hit a 3-pointer and converted a nifty shot off a drive to push the Cardinal lead to 48-40. Widel hit another 3-pointer to push the lead to 51-42 with 2:33 left and then Maquoketa hit eight free throws down the stretch to ice the game.
As big as Widel and Kluever were on offense down the stretch, they combined for 15 points from the end of the third quarter through the fourth period, and 37 on the night, Maquoketa was able to blow the game open because of its defense.
That defense allowed the Cardinals to rally from a nine-point deficit in the first half to take a 30-29 lead on a basket from Aubrey Kroymann midway through the third quarter. The two teams went back and forth from there until Widel’s clutch go-ahead 3 at the end of the quarter.
From that point, Mount Vernon’s only two points came courtesy of two Savanna Wright free throws with 5:41 left in the fourth quarter.
“It’s a game of momentum, and we start everything and end everything on the defensive end,” said Maquoketa coach Chad Specht. “We came out in the second half, and we were going to lock in. Shots weren’t always going to fall; it started on the defensive end.”
Wright, the 3A all-tournament captain, scored 19 points for Mount Vernon in a losing effort, but only six of those points came after halftime. The Mustangs shot just 28% from the field as a team, and they were 0-for-13 from the field in the fourth quarter.
Maquoketa held a 32-22 rebounding advantage. The Cardinals also were 9-of-17 from 3-point range as a team, and that helped them overcome 15 turnovers.
Mount Vernon finished the season with a 24-3 record and made its second-straight trip to the state title game. Quinn Pershing had nine points, Taylor Franck posted seven points and five rebounds and Courtney Franck added five points, eight boards and three assists for the Mustangs.
Kluever joined Widel as a 3A all-tournament selection from Maquoketa. She finished with 16 points, four rebounds and three assists against Mount Vernon.
Kroymann added eight points and six rebounds while Hadley Ihrig added nine points and six boards for the Cardinals.
“Doing this with all of my best friends, it’s just a dream come true,” Widel said. “I can’t believe it’s real.”
Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at jrandleman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Maquoketa claims 3A Iowa girls basketball state title over Mount Vernon
Reporting by Joe Randleman, Des Moines Register / Ames Tribune
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