Indianola Stuns No. 2 Cedar Falls For Semifinal Berth
Indianola followed Iowa City West's stirring comeback with a sweet rally of its own at the 2018 Iowa High School Girls State Basketball Tournament.
The Indians trailed Cedar Falls by 14 points early, clawed their way back into the game in the third quarter, then went back and forth with the Tigers in the final period before pulling out a 64-63 victory to complete the Class 5A quarterfinals Monday afternoon (Feb. 26, 2018).
Maggie McGraw scored on a key drive late in the game, then hit four-straight free throws to lift her 10th-ranked team to the upset of the second-ranked Tigers.
McGraw's final two free throws gave Indianola its final one-point margin with 11.7 seconds left. Cedar Falls then missed two shots, the last one from in close just before the buzzer.
McGraw, a 5-foot-11 junior who has committed to Iowa State, led Indianola with 28 points, including 5-for-8 from 3-point range. Grace Berg, who has signed with Missouri, also had a big game for the Indians with 27 points and nine rebounds. The two stars combined to make 17 of 32 shots and hit all 15 of their free throws.
Emerson Green led Cedar Falls with 27 points, Kamryn Finley scored 18 and Kiana Barney added 10. Green, a sophomore, made 11 of 19 shots, while Finley was 8-for-11. Finley and Barney both have signed with UNI.
Cedar Falls led 38-29 at halftime and was up 51-47 after Barney hit a 3-pointer to start the fourth quarter. Five straight points put Indianola in front and the lead changed hands six times after that as both teams hit one clutch shot after another. Green scored nine of Cedar Falls' final 11 points, including a drive to the basket to give the Tigers their final lead, 63-62 with 15 seconds left.
Indianola will take a 20-4 record into the semifinals at 11:45 a.m. Thursday against Iowa City West, which came from 12 points down in the fourth quarter to beat West Des Moines Dowling Catholic.
Cedar Falls finishes 22-2, its only other loss coming to top-ranked Iowa City High early in the season.
Story Courtesy of IGHSAU