Western Christian survived a wild finish and the foul
troubles of its star to win another state championship.
Erica Bousema sank two free throws with
12.5 seconds left for the winning points and the fourth-ranked Wolfpack held on
to beat No. 2 Treynor 51-48 for its fourth Class 2A
championship in the last six years.
Western got it done even though star junior Ashtyn Veerbeek managed only five points and spent time on the
bench because of fouls. Veerbeek had been dominant in
her first two games at state, putting up 55 points and 29 rebounds, and was
voted captain of the all-tournament team.
Bousema led Western Christian with
17 points, including four 3-pointers that were critical because Treynor surrounded the 6-foot-2 Veerbeek
with a collapsing zone defense. Karsyn Winterfeld
scored 12 points with three 3-pointers and Erika Feenstra
added seven
Madelyn Deitchler led Treynor with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Konnor Sudmann scored 15 and Randi Robinson had eight.
Western Christian jumped to an early 10-2 lead, but Treynor caught up quickly and the lead went back and forth
the rest of the way.
Treynor led by six at the start of
the fourth quarter before Western rallied to go up 47-42 on Feenstra's
putback with 3:37 left. But back came the Cardinals
and when Deitchler followed up her own miss, it was
tied at 48 with 22 seconds remaining.
Bousema's two free throws broke the
tie with 12.5 seconds left and Treynor thought it had
tied the score again when Sudmann drove for a layup
with six seconds remaining. But she was called for charging and Veerbeek made a free throw for the final point.
Western Christian also won championships in 2012, 2013 and 2014
and finished second last year.
Feenstra, Sudmann
and Deitchler also were named to the all-tournament
team, along with Nicole McDermott of Cascade and Alex Wiese of Iowa City
Regina.
The loss was Treynor's first after 27
victories. Western finished 25-2.