Cherokee Closes Strong To Win 3A Quarterfinal Game

In a Class-3A quarterfinal game that had both teams going up and down the court, two steals in the the final seconds helped close the deal for Cherokee at the 2016 Iowa High School Girls State Basketball Tournament Tuesday afternoon (March 1).

The result was a 72-67 victory over Osage that sends the fourth-ranked Braves into a semifinal showdown with No. 1 Pocahontas.

Cherokee was clinging to a 68-67 lead and on defense when freshman Payton Slaughter swiped the ball and fed Kaely Hummel for a layup that made it 70-67. Sophomore Paityn Hagberg then stole the ball after Osage got it up the floor and was fouled. She made both free throws with 14.7 seconds left to wrap it up.

Hummel, who has signed with Sioux Falls University, finished with 29 points to lead all scorers. She also grabbed 11 rebounds, handed out two assists and came up with two steals.

Slaughter's numbers might even be more impressive overall: 19 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and six steals while playing all 32 minutes. Hagberg added 16 points for the Braves, who improved to 23-2.

Sixth-ranked Osage battled back from an early 11-point deficit behind sophomore twins Ellie and Emily Friesen. Ellie put up 20 points and six rebounds, while Emily added 12 points and five rebounds despite playing only 17 minutes.

Brenna Jacobs had 13 points and eight rebounds for Osage, including a couple of drives to the basket that pulled the Green Devils to within a point with a little more than a minute remaining.

Cherokee and Pocahontas will meet at 5 p.m. Thursday in a game that's likely to be played at a breath-sapping pace.

Osage made the state tournament for the first time since qualifying in the 1993 six-player field. The Green Devils finish 21-4.

Story Courtesy of IGHSAU

Osage vs Cherokee
03/01/16 1:30 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena - Des Moines, Iowa

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VISITORS: Osage 21-4
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
04 Friesen, Emily...... *  4-7    2-4    2-2    2  3  5   4  12  1  2  0  0  17
14 Jacobs, Brenna...... *  6-10   0-0    1-4    4  4  8   2  13  2  4  1  1  21
20 Thompson, Desi...... *  0-2    0-0    0-0    0  3  3   1   0  0  2  0  1  16
23 Friesen, Ellie...... *  8-20   2-4    2-6    2  4  6   2  20  4  8  0  3  32
50 Midlang, Tatum...... *  4-7    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   4   8  0  1  0  2  22
10 Olson, Rylie........    0-1    0-0    0-0    1  2  3   1   0  0  1  2  1  18
32 Schwarting, Gabby...    3-10   1-6    0-0    1  2  3   4   7  0  2  0  0  24
52 Johnson, Madi.......    3-4    0-0    1-2    1  1  2   4   7  1  1  0  1  10
   TEAM................                         1  3  4             1
   Totals..............   28-61   5-14   6-14  12 22 34  22  67  8 22  3  9 160

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-31 41.9%   2nd Half: 15-30 50.0%   Game: 45.9%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-6  50.0%   2nd Half:  2-8  25.0%   Game: 35.7%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  6-12 50.0%   2nd Half:  0-2   0.0%   Game: 42.9%    1


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HOME TEAM: Cherokee 23-2
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
10 Hummel, Kaely....... * 10-22   1-6    8-9    3  8 11   4  29  2  4  0  2  28
11 Slaughter, Payton... *  7-13   0-2    5-10   3  9 12   2  19  7  2  0  6  32
13 Hagberg, Paityn..... *  7-15   0-4    2-4    2  0  2   3  16  4  4  0  2  30
14 Carver, MaKenna..... *  0-0    0-0    2-7    0  2  2   2   2  0  4  0  4  26
54 Dagel, Olivia....... *  2-5    0-0    0-0    3  6  9   5   4  0  2  0  0  19
22 Sleezer, Brianna....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
30 Pingel, Kassidy.....    1-1    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   2   2  0  0  0  0   5
52 Williams, Lindsay...    0-1    0-0    0-0    2  1  3   1   0  0  1  0  0  19
   TEAM................                            1  1
   Totals..............   27-57   1-12  17-30  13 28 41  19  72 13 17  0 14 160

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 15-33 45.5%   2nd Half: 12-24 50.0%   Game: 47.4%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  0-9   0.0%   2nd Half:  1-3  33.3%   Game:  8.3%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  9-17 52.9%   2nd Half:  8-13 61.5%   Game: 56.7%    8


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Officials: Marc Peterson, Rollie Webers, Marlin Schoonhoven
Technical fouls: Osage-None. Cherokee-None.
Attendance:
Score by Periods                1st  2nd  3rd  4th   Total
Osage.........................   15   20   17   15  -   67
Cherokee......................   20   19   18   15  -   72
Cherokee's #54 Dagel fouled out at 2:08 in 4th...