Des Moines, Iowa — #3 Central Lyon and #2 Denver will meet at 11:45 Friday morning for a spot in the 2A Championship Game.
It was a dramatic finish in the quarterfinals Wednesday that sent third-seeded Central Lyon into the next round.
Sophomore Desta Hoogendoorn took a bounce pass from Regan Van Wyhe and hit a short jumper in the lane at the buzzer to give Central Lyon a 42-40 victory over Cascade.
The buzzer-beater capped a game that looked to be a rout at one point, then turned into a tense finish that featured big shots on both sides.
Hoogendoorn finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Lions (23-2), who’ll face second-seeded Denver in a semifinal at 11:45 a.m. Friday. She also had three assists and two steals and blocked four shots.
Addison Klosterbuer added 14 points with four 3-pointers and nine rebounds for Central Lyon, while Kaylee Davis had six points and seven rebounds.
Ally Hoffman led Cascade with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Alyssa Lux added eight points, three assists and three steals for the Cougars (20-4), who made the tournament for the eighth time in 10 seasons.
Cascade has been known for years for its stingy defense but Central Lyon solved it in the early going and led by as many as 14 points.
The Lions ran off nine straight points to open a 20-8 lead and a 6-0 burst made it 26-12 midway through the second quarter. When Klosterbuer buried her third long 3 of the game, the Lions led 29-15 and looked to be heading for a comfortable victory.
But the Cascade defense took hold in the second half and the Cougars clawed back, outscoring the Lions 16-4 to take a 35-33 lead early in the fourth quarter. It was a back-and-forth affair from then on.
Klosterbuer splashed a 3 from the right corner for a 38-35 lead. Hoffman countered with a 3 from the top of the key to tie it. Hoogenboorn’s layup sent Central Lyon back ahead, only to see Cascade tie it again, Lux driving into the lane and dropping off a bounce pass to Josie Manternach for a layup and a tie at 40 52 seconds left.
The Lions, who became just the fifth team to reach 40 points against Cascade this season, then worked for the final shot and got it. Van Whye bounced a pass to Hoogendoorn in the middle of the lane and the 6-footer dropped in the game winner and move them into the semis.
Denver sophomore Macy Matthias gets minutes because of her perimeter shooting and she delivered in a big way in the quarterfinals. Matthias knocked down two 3-pointers to put her team ahead to stay late in the third quarter and the second-seeded Cyclones went on to beat seventh-seeded Underwood 58-51 to start Day 3 of the 2022 state tournament.
Denver improved 24-2 with the victory – both losses were to top-ranked Dike-New Hartford as they moved into the semifinals.
Matthias came into the state tournament with 29 field goals – 18 of them from 3-point range. She went 3-for-4 from long range in this one for nine key points.
The Cyclones also got a big lift from senior starter Sydney Eggena, who finished with 18 on 7-for-12 shooting to lead all scorers and grabbed six rebounds.
Teammate Reese Johnson filled the stat sheet with 12 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and four steals, while Grace Hennessy added 10 points, six rebounds and two steals.
Underwood (22-3) led by as many as five points in the first half and kept pace once the Cyclones caught up. The Eagles tied it at 36 on Hall’s three-point play with 2:04 left in the third quarter but never regained the lead.
The lower bracket semi is set for 11:45 Friday morning.
