Algona Bishop Garrigan is getting another crack at the team that ended its season a year ago.
Bishop Garrigan earned its chance by dominating all areas of the game in rolling past Montezuma 69-31 to gain a spot in the Class 1A semifinals. The fourth-seeded Golden Bears (23-3) will have plenty of incentive when they get there because the opponent in Friday’s 1:30 p.m. game is Council Bluffs St. Albert.
St. Albert beat Garrigan 53-42 in the opening round last year, an early exit for the Golden Bears after they had won the state championship the two previous seasons and finished second in the two years before that. Top-seeded St. Albert advanced with a 42-31 victory over Dunkerton.
Garrigan got contributions up and down the lineup in its latest victory, starting with senior Zoe Montag, who scored 16 points, hit four 3-pointers and made three steals. Sophomore Graclyn Eastman added 12 points and 14 rebounds, freshman Madelyn Tigges had 11 points, five rebounds and two assists and junior Emmi Bartolo tallied 10 points and six assists.
The fifth starter, junior Sacha Alesch, chipped in with nine points and four steals.
The Saintes racked up 12 steals in all in building a 26-7 edge in points off turnovers. They outrebounded Montezuma 38-22 and held the Bravettes to 29.3 percent shooting. Montezuma had thrived on its perimeter shooting during the season but went 1-for-15 from beyond in the arc in this one.
Shiressa Wetering led fifth-seeded Montezuma (19-6) with 11 points and six rebounds. Ellen Cook added nine points and five rebounds for the Bravettes, who reached the state tournament for the sixth time in the last eight years and the 17th time overall.
Bartolo started the scoring with a 3-pointer a little more than a minute into the game and the Saintes proceeded to build a quick 10-2 lead. They led by as many as 17 in the opening half and were up 39-14 at halftime.
Montezuma couldn’t make any dent in the margin as the two teams traded scores through the third period. An 8-0 Garrigan run in the fourth quarter stretched the lead to 69-28 and triggered a continuous clock the rest of the way.
