Williamsburg picked up its first state tournament victory in four tries and the Raiders certainly had to work for it.
They regrouped after a 10-point lead slipped away and turned back Des Moines Christian 52-49 to complete the quarterfinal round in Class 3A. Lifted by its 17th straight victory, third-seeded Williamsburg will play in the state semifinals for the first time when it meets second-seeded Dubuque Wahlert Catholic at 3:15 p.m. on Thursday.
Williamsburg won it with some timely scoring and active hands on defense that produced 13 steals and forced 20 turnovers in all. The Raiders outscored the Lions 20-10 in points off turnovers and survived an outstanding performance by Des Moines Christian junior Addy Oetker, who finished with 20 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Carly Rich led Williamsburg with 19 points and scored eight of team’s final 10 as the Raiders broke away from a 42-42 tie in the last 4 minutes. Zoe Allen added 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Ava Hocker collected 10 rebounds to go with seven points. Rich and Allen both had three steals.
Ellie Owen added 15 points and six rebounds for Des Moines Christian (21-4), which had a 21-game winning streak broken.
Williamsburg appeared to have things well in hand when Rich stole the ball and took it in for layup that produced a 35-25 lead with 4 minutes left in the third quarter. The Lions refused to fold, however, and kept the pressure on the Raiders until the end.
An 11-3 run during which Oetken scored three times and assisted on the other two baskets brought the Lions into a tie at 40 with 4:35 remaining. Oetken, who scored on a variety of driving layups throughout the game, did it one final time to knot the score at 42 with 3:57 to go.
Rich then led the Raiders’ final charge, scoring twice on drives into the lane and sinking four free throws, the last two making it 52-46 with 24.4 seconds left. Owen hit a 3-pointer just before the buzzer and Des Moines Christian got a time out with eight-tenths of a second remaining.
Williamsburg just had to get the ball inbounds to secure the victory and the Raiders did so without a problem. Now they’ll have a chance to continue what has been a remarkable climb under third-year coach Stephanie Dacey, who as Stephanie Rich led Washington to three consecutive state championships and was inducted into the IGHSAU Hall of Fame.
Williamsburg went 5-17 in her first season, improved to 14-9 last season and now has a school record for victories.
With those titles at Washington and this latest win, Dacey is 12-1 as a player and coach in state tournament play with 10 straight victories.
