Cedar Falls emerged from a shootout between two of the state’s best players with a trip to the Class 5A semifinals.
Drake signee Grace Knutson hit eight 3-pointers and scored 34 points to lift the seventh-seeded Tigers to a 71-65 victory over second-seeded Davenport North and its own superstar, Divine Bourrage.
Knutson finished 8-for-15 from beyond the arc and capped her performance with a 3 from deep in the left corner to give her team the breathing room it needed to hold on. With Drake coach Allison Pohlman watching from the stands, Knutson went 12-for-23 overall and added three rebounds, three assists and a steal.
Bourrage, a junior, scored 24 points on 9-for-14 shooting and made all but one of her five 3-point shots. She also pulled down 11 rebounds, handed out four assists and made four steals in a performance that showed why she is one of the nation’s most touted recruits.
Bourrage has not committed to a school, but she had a couple of interested observers watching from mid-court – South Carolina coach Dawn Staley and one of her assistants, Jolette Law.
Cedar Falls also got a big game from sophomore Keris Finley, who had 17 points, five rebounds, six assists, two blocks and two steals. Grace Hannam scored eight for the Tigers on 4-for-5 shooting, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked two shots.
Makayla Farnum added 20 points and six rebounds for North, while Kyra Taylor had 12 points and seven rebounds.
Cedar Falls led for most of the game, though North never led the Tigers get comfortable. They led by nine early in the second quarter and were up[ 27-19 midway through the quarter, only to fall behind when North scored 10 straight to go up 29-27. Knutson’s 3 just before the buzzer put Cedar Falls up 30-29 at the half.
The Tigers built a seven-point lead in the third quarter, but North came back again. The Wildcats led by four, fell behind by four, then inched ahead 60-59 on Taylor’s putback with 3:06 to go. It was tied at 63 with under 2 minutes remaining and that’s when Knutson struck.
She hit a 3 to put the Tigers ahead for good, and after Farnum scored for North, she buried the clincher with 46 seconds left. The Tigers got the ball back on a turnover and Knutson sank two free throws to finish it off.
Cedar Falls won its 21st straight game and advances to a semifinal at 11:45 a.m. Thursday with a 23-1 record. North, which had a 22-game winning streak broken, made it to state despite losing its other star, Iowa commit Journey Houston, to a knee injury in late January. The Wildcats finish 22-3