Pella is moving ahead in Class 4A after pulling off the second major upset of the quarterfinal round at the 2016 Iowa High School Girls State Basketball Tournament Wednesday morning (March 2).

The eighth-ranked Lady Dutch built a 13-point lead in the first half, then held off a late charge by second-ranked Lewis Central to pull out a 47-41 victory. It came after ninth-ranked Mason City upset No. 1 Western Dubuque in the first game of the quarterfinals Tuesday night.

Pella played solid defense throughout and got excellent scoring balance, with five players getting between seven and nine points. Kiara Bradley also came up big with 12 rebounds and three assists, and Katie Vander Molen made four straight free throws in the final 1:02 after missing the front end of two 1-and-1 opportunities earlier in the fourth quarter.

Vander Molen and Chloe Van Vliet led Pella with nine points each. Annika Pingel scored eight, while Bradley and reserve Emily Holterhaus each had seven.

Maegan Holt did what she could to keep Lewis Central in it, but the Titans couldn't quite muster enough offense to go with her. Holt finished with 21 points, eight rebounds and two steals. Kassie Larsen added six points for Lewis Central, which lost for just the second time in 22 games.

The Titans' only other loss was to two-time defending champion Harlan, which also reached the state tournament.

Lewis Central scored the final seven points of the first half to lead 26-15 and twice led by 13 in the third quarter before Pella clawed back. The Lady Dutch eventually cut the gap to 41-37 with a seven-point run that Alissa Pomerenke capped with a layup after a steal.

Pella left the down open by missing three straight free throws, but the Titans couldn't capitalize and Vander Molen converted four times to give her team the breathing room it needed.

Pella improved to 22-2 and will play a semifinal game at 11:45 a.m. Friday.

Story Courtesy of IGHSAU


Pella vs Lewis Central
03/02/16 10:00 a.m. at Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, IA

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VISITORS: Pella 22-2
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
10 Pingel, Annika...... *  4-7    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   2   8  1  2  0  0  28
12 Bradley, Kiara...... *  2-4    0-0    3-3    1 11 12   2   7  3  4  0  1  29
14 Buchheit, Ciara..... *  1-3    1-2    0-2    0  0  0   3   3  1  3  0  2  22
24 Vander Molen, Katie. *  2-14   1-7    4-6    2  3  5   1   9  1  3  0  0  28
32 Van Vliet, Chloe.... *  4-6    1-3    0-0    1  6  7   1   9  0  1  0  0  21
20 Lambert, Kloe.......    1-2    0-1    0-0    0  1  1   0   2  2  0  0  2   9
22 Wichhart, Kara......    1-1    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   2  0  0  0  0   1
34 Bossard, Erica......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   2
52 Holterhaus, Emily...    2-4    1-1    2-4    2  2  4   3   7  1  0  0  1  20
   TEAM................                         1     1
   Totals..............   17-41   4-14   9-15   7 23 30  12  47  9 13  0  6 160

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-27 37.0%   2nd Half:  7-14 50.0%   Game: 41.5%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  2-9  22.2%   2nd Half:  2-5  40.0%   Game: 28.6%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  4-5  80.0%   2nd Half:  5-10 50.0%   Game: 60.0%   3,1


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HOME TEAM: Lewis Central 20-2
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
02 Pomerenke, Alissa... *  1-7    0-4    2-2    0  1  1   2   4  2  2  1  2  31
03 Madsen, Kye......... *  0-3    0-1    1-2    0  5  5   4   1  1  0  0  2  27
15 Holt, Maegan........ *  9-16   0-0    3-5    3  5  8   3  21  0  3  0  2  31
22 Paulsen, Madison.... *  0-5    0-4    0-0    0  4  4   3   0  4  5  2  0  27
42 Larsen, Kassie...... *  3-3    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   5   6  0  0  0  2  15
00 Miller, Nicole......    1-3    1-2    0-0    0  0  0   0   3  0  1  0  0  11
14 Petersen, Dani......    2-6    0-0    0-0    0  2  2   2   4  1  0  1  1  13
44 Wilson, Whitney.....    1-1    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   1   2  0  1  0  0   5
   TEAM................                            1  1
   Totals..............   17-44   1-11   6-9    4 19 23  20  41  8 12  4  9 160

TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  5-20 25.0%   2nd Half: 12-24 50.0%   Game: 38.6%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  1-7  14.3%   2nd Half:  0-4   0.0%   Game:  9.1%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  4-6  66.7%   2nd Half:  2-3  66.7%   Game: 66.7%   2,1


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Officials: Robert Smith Jr, Tom McQuillen, Tyler Brady
Technical fouls: Pella-None. Lewis Central-None.
Attendance:
Score by Periods                1st  2nd  3rd  4th   Total
Pella.........................   10   16   13    8  -   47
Lewis Central.................    8    7   13   13  -   41

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