TR Photo By Ross Thede-West Marshall Girls basketball team will gather around the state’s qualifying banner after upsetting No. 4 Forest City in Saturday’s Class 3A Region 3 Finals. The Trojans defeated Indians 51-48.
Forest City – Leftovers from the 2023 state tournament were not accurately appropriate.
The West Marshall Girls Basketball Program had to replace Fred Zeller’s 33-year Hall of Fame head coach and NCAA Division I recruits at Katy Layerson after the 2023 campaign.
Still, two years later, the Trojans return to the well.
West Marshall went out on the road and knocked out Forest City No. 51-48 in Saturday’s Class 3A Region 3 Championship Game and returned to the Iowa High School Girls State Basketball Tournament over the past six years.
This is head coach Cody Hackett’s first trip. In his second season, he brought together staff and teams who accepted their role and ran. The Trojans (19-5) don’t play the perfect ball game and tell the same thing, but defeated the team needed to secure the school’s 12th state tournament berth.
“There are a few moments this year when girls questioned what their role was, and sometimes it doesn’t do a very good job explaining that,” Hackett said.
“I’m very proud of how hard they work during the day and during the day. I’m very proud of our girls. This is what I’ve been hoping for since last year. Yes, it’s surreal and we’re going to come here and we’re going to state.”
The The The The The The The The travelled two hours north from the top of the Iowa Conference to face the top team. Forest City (23-2) lost once to 4A No. 9 Waverly-Shell Rock. The Indians were rarely threatened on their home court, which was 10-0 in Saturday’s regional final.
Fast forward to the last horn. A scramble failed to turn off Forest City’s last one tied three-point attempt, and West Marshall was celebrated.
“We’ve come down from time to time throughout the game. You dealt with adversity and at the end of the game you got more points than they do,” Hackett said. “I praise For playing so hard for Forest City. They never stopped and were a bit rattling at the end, but fortunately, there were some timeouts left that could calm the girls down. It was there.”
Forest City head coach Matt Elperding thought that was the difference in the game. Every time he felt his team had blown momentum in front of a raucous home town crowd, West Marshall had the answer.
“We did a run to force a timeout. They got out of the timeout and matched our run. That can’t happen on your home court,” Elperding said. . “It was something we were always emphasizing, but that was the key tonight, they just kept fighting, they kept fighting, we got a little shorter.
“Our crowd is incredible. This was a great atmosphere tonight, but unfortunately West Marshall celebrates, not us.”
West Marshall scored six points in the first half, but had one lead in the break – 21-20. The Trojan had previously sold 14 times, with its main scorer, Bella Borgos, not scoring at all. Instead, fellow senior Hale Jones had hot hands and handled the big moments of her team.
Jones made three of his career-high four three-pointers in the first half, scoring 11 points to help West Marshall hold a slim lead on the break.
“When I got into the game, I knew my teammates were confident in me. My coach was confident in me, I was confident in myself,” Jones said. “What we did tonight – it was crazy.
“This means everything, this is my dream, my dream comes true. I can’t believe it, I can’t believe it.”
Those plans have been put on hold due to a surge in forest cities to begin the second half. The Indians took their first lead using an 8-0 run after winning the game’s first basket and moved forward 28-23 with 5:33 left in the third quarter.
Hackett timed out, and the Trojans composed themselves and sold on a 10-0 push with consecutive three-pointers by Jones and Borgos.
West Marshall is trapped, despite sales issues, being forced to answer any challenges from the Indians and settle for too many three-point attempts to keep Forest City efficient He rebutted it with defensive efforts.
The front and back fights continued until the Trojans opened the fourth gap, earning six straights with 49-42 lead with 41 seconds remaining.
Forest City turned his back against the wall and found a shooting touch in the clutch. Colletlog sank the first three pointers. Its opening salvo and Lexi Ice brand added a deep tray to display 11.1 seconds and get 50-48.
Borgos defeated one of two free throws, and with four fouls, West Marshall turned Forest City’s final 11 seconds to five. Isebrand’s three-point attempt was long, with the Indians denied a second straight trip to the state.
With Zeller and Reyerson in the stands, a new Trojan puzzle was formed, and shared with 2023 state team starters Borgos and Lily Zahnd in a new celebration.
“Both were kind of insane experiences, but obviously being my fourth grade had a huge impact and we really wanted this, and that’s what we’re going to do tonight. I think it made us feel better” 10 rebounds.
Borgos finished with 12 points (all in the second half) and enjoyed this last trip to the state with years of perspective under her belt.
“This team only gets it once. It’s bittersweet because it’s our last ride, but we’re going to state it, and that’s the ultimate goal of everyone’s book,” she said. Ta. “That’s surreal to me. We’ve been playing since third grade and we’re all stuck to different trousers, but I’m here today. Looking back at those moments is bittersweet. , I’m going to say it together one last time now.”
Jones ultimately had 14 points, while fellow Junior Shelby Johnston and Riley Randall contributed four and three points respectively. Kin Region Johnston in Freshman Reserve had two boards and one block shot.
Senior starters Avery Everton and Natalie Nichols also didn’t score, but that wasn’t necessarily a piece in this particular puzzle.
“I think everyone on the team knows their role,” Zarnd said. “They may not do that much, but they do a lot for us. There’s a reason why they know they’re there, they’re I think everyone knows that.”
Loges led Forest City with 17 points, while Dru Seglem added eight points and Isebrand Seven. Jenna Dokuty, the Indians’ second goal scorer and primary post player, scored six points.
West Marshall will be held all week to prepare for the state tournament after the biggest upset of the regional round. The Trojans will receive the seed number 8 and will face top seed Mount Vernon (23-1) in the 3A opener at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines at 5pm on Monday, March 3rd.
“As long as we all know our role and we play together as we are now, we can’t stop,” Borgos said.
West Marshall 51, Forest City 48
West Marshall (19-5) – Bellaborgos 3 4-6 12, Lily Zan 6 6-7 18, Natalie Nichols 0 0-0 0, Halle Jones 5 0-0 14, Avery Evertsen 0 0-0 0, Rileyland Roll 1 0-0 3, Kinley Johnston0 0-2 0, Shelby Johnston2 0-04. Total 17 10-15 51.
Forest City (23-2) – Collet Log 6 2-2 17, Bethany Warren 2 2-3 6, Lexi Ice Brand 3 0-0 7, Genna Doctie 2 2-2 6, Doucetrem 4 0-0 8, Breningiesen 2 0 -2 4, Ashlen Kingland 0 0-0 0, Cadence Thretten 0 0-00. Total of 19 6-9 48.
W. Marshall 9 12 15 15 – 51
Forest City 7 13 13 15 – 48
3-point goals – West Marshall 7 (Jones 4, Borgos 2, Randall), Forest City 4 (Log 3, Isebrand). Team Fouls – West Marshall 8, Forest City 13.
Iowa Girls State Basketball Tournament
At Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines
Quarterfinal pairing
Class 3a
Monday, March 3rd
No. 1 Mount Vernon (23-1) vs. No. 8 West Marshall (19-5), 5pm
No. 4 Cherokee (21-3) vs. No. 5 Estherville-Lincoln Central (20-3), 6:45pm
No. 2 Dubuque Wahlert (19-4) vs. 7 Spirit Lake (17-7), 8:30pm
Tuesday, March 4th
No. 3 Williamsburg (23-2) vs. No. 6 Des Moines Christian (21-3), 10am
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