Hull Iowa — #15 Unity Christian downed #4 Cherokee 82-71 in the Class 2A Region 1 Championship Game Monday night at the Western Christian Gym. With the win it’s on to State for the Knights.
Cherokee led 17-11 at the end of the first quarter. When Justine Malenke hit a left corner three at the end of the half momentum seemed to change as Unity went up 37-31. In the third quarter tho some of Cherokee’s top scorers began to hit and the lead was down to 57-56 at the end of the quarter. Unity took control in the paint and at the free throw line to get the lead back to 10 points in the late stages and nailed down the win 82-71.
After the game Unity head coach Jay Schuiteman talked about his teams effort.
Schuiteman didn’t feel like the game was in hand until the final minutes.
For the Knights it was a true team effort.
Janie Schoonhoven tied for game high honors with 22 points. Jori Bronner hit for 21. Corina Timmermans added 17 points. Justine Malenke hit from outside the stripe with four 3-point buckets and a 16 point night.
Payton Slaughter led Cherokee with 22 points followed by JeMae Nichols with 17 points before fouling out with 1:19 to go. Teagan Slaughter and Kassidy Pingel both had a dozen. Pingle fouled out with :19 seconds left.
The game was played at a furious pace for the full 32 minutes. Schuiteman talked about the game plan and choice to go up tempo with Cherokee… a team that likes to get up and run.
The Knights will take some time to enjoy the moment then it’s back to work.
Unity will take a 19-5 record to the State Tournament. Cherokee ends the season at 22-2. Unity Christian is the 8th seed in Class 2A and will take on #1 seed Grundy Center on Tuesday, February 26th at 6:45 pm
