Sophomore Cailyn Morgan's
two clutch plays in the final minute helped send Iowa City West to the Class 5A
semifinals.
Morgan scored the winning
basket with 50 seconds remaining, then grabbed the game's final rebound to
secure the victory as third-ranked West beat No. 4 Waukee 40-38.
The Women of Troy survived despite
playing most of the game without No. 2 scorer Rachael Saunders. Saunders, who
was averaging 12.8 points, injured her left knee after making an early
3-pointer and did not return.
Logan
Cook led West with 13 points and Morgan finished with nine. Emma Koch added
seven points and 14 rebounds for the Women of Troy.
The
Morgan name, of course, is familiar in West circles. Her brother Jeremy and
sister Mikaela both played at West and are now at Northern Iowa.
Carlie
Littlefield led Waukee with 15 points, Rebecca Corbett scored eight and Jori Nieman had seven.
After
six second-half lead changes, West had the ball and 38-35 lead when Littlefield
leaped and intercepted a pass with just under 2 minutes left. Seconds later,
she swished a 3-pointer from the right wing to tie it at 38 with 1:46 to go.
West
then worked the ball patiently and got it to Morgan on the right side. She saw
an opening, took the ball to the basket and flicked it through the hoop for the
go-ahead points.
When
Waukee missed close-in shot, Morgan was there to collar the rebound and was
fouled with nine-tenths of a second left. The Women of Troy weren't in the
bonus yet, so they inbounded from the baseline. Waukee's Kylie Coleman picked
off the pass at half court and her desperation heave was on line but short and
West was moving on.
West
takes a 21-4 record against No. 2 West Des Moines Valley at 3:15 p.m. Friday.
Waukee, in the tournament for the ninth time in 10 years, finishes 18-5.