DES MOINES, Iowa — Carlisle’s Macy Comito made quick work of a state tournament scoring record set only two days earlier.
Comito torched Sioux City Bishop Heelan for 42 points and Carlisle upset the previously unbeaten Crusaders 73-60 to roll into the Class 4A championship game.
Bishop Heelan’s Melina Snoozy had set the 4A record when she scored 39 points in a victory over North Polk on Tuesday, topping the 37 that Cedar Rapids Xavier’s Libby Fandel scored last year, against Bishop Heelan.
Snoozy was no slouch against Carlisle, finishing with 27 points on 11-for-14 shooting. But this night belonged to Comito, a 5-foot-9 senior who has signed with Iowa State.
Comito made 12 of 22 shots, including 5-of-9 from 3-point ranged, sank all 13 of her free throws, dished out three assists and made five steals. She scored 24 points in the first half to carry her team to a 33-22 lead and the Wildcats kept the lead in double figures while shooting a torrid 70 percent (14-for-20) over the final two quarters. Back-to-back steals and layups by Comito gave them their biggest lead at 63-41 early in the fourth quarter.
Kami Clark added 11 points and Ella Smith scored nine for Carlisle (25-1), which reached the finals for the first time and will play Dallas Center-Grimes for the title at 2:30 Saturday afternoon. Dallas Center-Grimes (23-2) staged an improbable comeback in the final minute to beat Norwalk 47-42.
Seniors Ella Otten and Trishelle Miller each scored 12 points for Bishop Heelan (24-1), a three-time state champion that went undefeated in the regular season for the first time. Otten and Miller both scored more than 1,000 points in their careers. Snoozy, who still has another season to play, has scored more than 1,500.
Comito, whose ball handling and passing at times border on the sensational, made plays through the game, but two stand out.
Running the half-court offense, she juked a couple of times as if she was going to drive to the basket, then shoveled an underhand pass to Alyvia Freeman cutting to the hoop for a layup that put Carlisle ahead 57-39 late in the third quarter.
With Tigers safely ahead in the fourth quarter, Comito raced to the sideline to save a ball from going out of bounds and flipped it to Freeman. She then cut to the basket, took a return pass from Freeman and made a layup for a 67-47 lead as the Wildcats’ fans roared in delight.
With 39 points and less than a minute to play, Comito broke the record by making two final free throws and then headed to the bench, her team’s trip to the championship game safely secured.
