With her team’s star held in check, freshman Katelyn Muller came through for Dowling Catholic in a big way.
Muller hit two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to give the Maroons the cushion they needed to hold on for a 53-48 victory over defending champion Pleasant Valley to complete the Class 5A quarterfinal round.
Muller finished with 15 points, all on 3-point baskets, to help send third-seeded Dowling Catholic to a semifinal game against seventh-seeded Cedar Falls at 11:45 a.m. on Thursday.
Junior Ava Zediker, who has committed to Creighton, led the Maroons with 29 points, but the Spartans held her to two shots and one field goal in the second half after she scored 21 in the first two quarters. Zediker finished 8-for-11 from the field with four 3-pointers and, just as important, knocked down nine of 10 free throws, including four in the final 31.1 seconds to secure the victory.
Jessie Clemons led Pleasant Valley with 16 points and Reagan Pagniano scored 12, including 11 in the second half. She also had four steals and two assists.
Pleasant Valley’s zone defense was much more effective down the stretch after Dowling opened a 41-29 lead on Muller’s 3 from the left corner midway through the third quarter. With the zone keeping the Maroons at bay, Clemons made three layups in a 10-0 run that drew the Spartans to 41-39 near the end of the third quarter.
But they couldn’t make the shots they needed to pull ahead and Dowling did what it needed to protect the lead.
After Zediker sank two free throws at the end of the third quarter to stretch the lead to 43-39, Mueller buried a 3 from the right of the key to make it 46-39, then hit another from the same sport for a 49-41 lead.
Pleasant Valley wasn’t finished, though, and drew to 51-48 on Pagniano’s trey from the left cormer with 22.7 seconds left. After each team took a timeout, Pleasant Valley knocked the ball loose near its own basket, touching off a wild scramble. The Maroons came up with it, PV had to foul Zediker and she made both free throws for the final points.
Dowling Catholic moves on with 20-4 record, having won 10 straight and 18 of its last 19. Pleasant Valley finishes 19-5, with all of its losses coming to state tournament qualifiers. The Spartans lost to Dowling Catholic 43-36 in mid-December.