Finally, after years of heartbreak on the final
night of the season, Newell-Fonda is a state champion,
Hailey Falline's layup
with 2 seconds left lifted the seventh-ranked Mustangs to the Class 1A
championship with a 45-43 victory over No. 11 Springville.
Falline
delivered from the left block after Springville tied the score at 43 when
freshman Madi Wagaman made
the first of two free throws with 12.5 seconds remaining. Newell-Fonda
rebounded the miss and called time to set up a final play -- and the
seventh-ranked Mustangs (23-4) made it work for their first state title.
It was an especially sweet victory for
Newell-Fonda and its fans. The Mustangs lost in the last two championship games
and had been 0-5 in state finals, losing those games by a total of 18 points.
Erin Gerke led
Newell-Fonda with 17 points and Falline finished with
10 -- none bigger than the two at the end.
Freshman Rylee Menster led No. 11 Springville (23-4) with 10 points.
All-tournament captain Sarah Matus and Megan Wagaman each scored nine for the Orioles, who beat
Newell-Fonda in the 2008 title game.
Neither team led by more than five points before
the game came down to the final hectic seconds.
Jordan Wilken's basket
inside put Newell-Fonda up 43-42, and the Mustangs wasted a chance to increase
their lead when Maddi Morenz
missed the front end of a 1-and-1 opportunity.
Then, after Wagaman's
free throw, Newell-Fonda inbounded under the Springville basket and Gerke pushed the ball up the floor. She passed to Morenz on the left side and Morenz
found Falline near the basket for the game winner.
Springville was awarded a timeout with 1.2
seconds left but could only get off a desperation shot that fell short.
Matus, a
5-foot senior, hit three 3-pointers to finish with a record 12 for the
tournament, breaking the previous mark of 11 held by Rock Valley's super shooter,
Deb Remmerde, and four others. Menster
finished with six steals to give her 16, the most in 1A since the tournament
went to five classes. The old record was 11 by Newell-Fonda's Renee Maneman last year.