DES MOINES, Iowa — Rock Valley kept plugging away and plugging away, running its offense and making shots, and finally got it done.
The Rockets came all the way back from a 14-point deficit and beat Treynor 57-54 to gain a berth in the Class 2A championship game, their first appearance in the finals since winning the last of three consecutive titles in 2003.
Now, two schools only 48 miles apart in northwest Iowa will meet in the middle of the state to decide the championship. Second-seeded Rock Valley (24-2) will play defending champion Hinton at 4:45 p.m. on Saturday. Hinton (22-1), the No. 1 seed, led all the way in advancing with a 57-48 win over Denver.
Rock Valley faced a more challenging game. The Rockets trailed 42-28 early in the third quarter and were staring at a 54-48 deficit with less than 3 minutes remaining.
Sixth-seeded Treynor was shooting it well from the 3-point arc, but those shots dried up at the end and Rock Valley capitalized, scoring the game’s final nine points to pull it out.
Sophomore Caydence Harmsen, who led the Rockets with 17 points, swished a 3 from the left corner to start the final charge. Hudsyn Ranschau followed with another trey to tie it at 54 and Haevyn Ranschau sank a free throw with 53.8 seconds left to break the tie.
Moments later, Hudsyn Ranschau stole the ball at midcourt and hit Eva Remmerde racing to the basket for a layup with 36 seconds remaining.
Haevyn Ranschau then grabbed the rebound when Treynor missed from distance and the Rockets held on, even after missing two potential clinching free throws with 16.6 seconds to go. They kept Treynor well guarded as the clock ran down and Ciana Zomer blocked what essentially was a desperation shot at the end.
Hudsyn Ranschau finished with 13 points and Haevyn scored 12 to go with seven rebounds. Remmerde, averaging just 1.6 points, contributed 10 key points off the bench, all in the second half. Zomer didn’t score but grabbed 17 rebounds, dished out two assists and had the block at the end.
Ella Thornton led Treynor (22-3) with 15 points, while Nora Konz, Addison Mauer and Stella Sornson each scored 12. The Cardinals took 32 of their 55 shots from beyond the arc and connected on 13. But they missed their final four shots after Thornton’s trey made it 54-48 and turned it over twice in that stretch.
