TRURO —
Prior to Monday night, head coach Justin Nolte was still looking to coach his Twin Cedars girls basketball team in a game with a state tournament berth on the line.
The Sabers coach got his chance against upstart Earlham in the Class 1A, Region 6 finals. Getting the chance to coach Twin Cedars at the girls state basketball tournament, however, will have to wait for another year.
Coming off a 54-48 upset of previous unbeaten sixth-ranked Adair-Casey on Friday, the Cardinals clinched a surprising berth in the Class 1A state tourney Monday at Interstate 35 High School. Earlham opened a working 37-29 margin and pulled away in the second half, leading by 20 late in the third quarter before closing out a 79-55 win over Twin Cedars.
The Cardinals were tough to stop early on, scoring 21 points in the opening quarter for a 21-12 lead on the Sabers. After pulling within eight at the breat, Earlham put away the win with 23 points in the third quarter to open a 60-40 lead.
The continues a resurgent run for Earlham, who have won nine of their last 10 games since a three-game skid sunk the Cardinals below .500. Head coach Kristin Sheffield’s squad will enter the state tourney at 16-9 and will open play in the 1A state quarterfinals against Central Lyon (23-2) at 3:15 p.m. Monday afternoon at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.
The Sabers’ deepest postseason run concluded with big nights for two of Twin Cedars’ top seniors. Alee Hugen topped her team-leading 18.6 scoring average by pouring in 24 points while grabbing 10 rebounds for a double-double.
Junior Brittney Roby, who figures to be the top returning player for the Sabers, added 20 points to go with nine boards and team-high five assists. Twin Cedars finishes the season with a 21-4 record.
Class 1A, Region 6 Finals
Earlham 79, Twin Cedars 55
T.C. 12 17 11 15 — 55
Earl. 21 16 23 19 — 79
Twin Cedars (55) — Alee Hugen 24, Brittney Roby 20, Kenzie McCarty 4, Alya Crosby 3, Shyann DenBurger 2, Elizabeth Rowley 2. Totals 21-47 10-17 55.
3-point goals — 3-13 (Roby 2-7, Crosby 1-5, Payton Fee 0-1). Rebounds — 29 (Hugen 10, Roby 9, Crosby 5, McCarty 2, Megan Anderson, DenBurger, Fee). Assists — 16 (Roby 5, Crosby 4, Rowley 4, Fee 3). Steals — 5 (Crosby, DenBurger, Fee, Hugen, Roby). Blocks — 2 (Crosby, DenBurger). Total fouls — 11.
Sports
February 18, 2013
Sabers fall short of state tournament
- Sports
-
-
Lady Dees edge Knoxville in thrilling softball season opener
ALBIA – It doesn't take much to get Mitch Chance fired up. If there's an ounce of energy to be found on the softball diamond, the exuberant young Albia softball coach is going to try and get his team squeeze every drop out of it no matter what the sc
-
McCaffery, Brands to highlight SE I-Club Tailgate May 24
OTTUMWA – Fresh off leading the program to the second-most wins in a single season, there's an exciting future in store for Fran McCaffery as head coach of the Iowa men's basketball team. Part of that future will include stopping to visit with local
-
Cardinal grad Greiner helps lead Central to NCAA tourney finals
There's almost 400 miles in between Agency, Iowa and Eau Claire, Wis. Don't think for one minute Chelsea Greiner's family wouldn't gladly make the trip again next year to see their daughter play one more time for a national softball championship. The
- Ottumwa softball team ready to start season OTTUMWA -- At first glance its hard to spot a weakness on this season's Ottumwa softball team. And, much to the chagrin of opposing teams, subsequent glances render the same results. The Bulldogs return a talented roster flush with offensive firepowe
- Tri-County pulls away late THORNBURG -- Tri-County Trojans and Keota traded the lead seven times on Monday, but the Trojans ended up on top with a 9-4 win to open the baseball season in South Iowa Cedar League play. Tri-County took the lead in the fifth inning and held on for
-
Mustangs finish off season at state pentathlon
WASHINGTON -- Josh Husted was a tired, but very happy head coach just a few days ago. He had just spent a busy three days watching several of his Davis County girls track and field athletes compete for championships, both of the individual and team v
- Ottumwa crushes Albia The Ottumwa red junior varsity softball team crushed Albia in a doubleheader Monday, blanking the Blue Demons 21-0 in game one and 21-2 in the nightcap. Ottumwa only needed three innings to win the first game and four to emerge victorious in the seco
-
Lady Dees edge Knoxville in thrilling softball season opener
It doesn't take much to get Mitch Chance fired up.
- Ottumwa girls lose to powerful Ankeny
- Ottumwa opens against champs OTTUMWA — The Ottumwa Bulldog baseball team will try to get the John Jaeger era started on a positive note today when the boys take on defending state champion Ankeny in a doubleheader starting at 5 p.m. at Legion Memorial Field. The boys had an up-
- More Sports Headlines
-
