Des Moines, Iowa — West Lyon’s best move all season has been getting the ball to Brooklyn Meyer and it proved so again in the Class 3A semifinals.
Meyer followed up her triple-double in the quarterfinals with another big effort in leading the fourth-ranked Wildcats into the state championship game with a 52-39 victory over top-ranked Cherokee.
Meyer, a 6-foot-2 junior who has committed to South Dakota State, scored 20 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked five shots as West Lyon handed Cherokee its first loss. Meyer made 8-of-10 shots, handed out three assists and led a third-quarter surge that gave the Wildcats control of the game.
Kennedy Kramer added 10 points for West Lyon and Hayley Knoblock had seven points and 10 rebounds.
Now 24-1, West Lyon will go for its first state title at 11 a.m. Saturday. The Wildcats lost to Solon in the 1998 championship game.
Cherokee, with no player taller than 5-feet-9, simply could not match up with Meyer and finished 23-1. Kenna Mongan led the Braves with 13 points and Camille Zwiefel scored 11.
West Lyon shot 52 percent, outrebounded Cherokee 35-27 and held the Braves to 4- for-23 shooting in the second half.
Cherokee rallied from a 22-14 deficit to 29-29 tie at halftime. West Lyon then made a concerted effort to get the ball Meyer and it paid off. Using a variety of post moves, Meyer scored the first 13 points of a 15-2 run that lifted the Wildcats into a 44-35 lead as the third quarter ended.
Meyer scored again at the start of the fourth quarter, Randi Childress followed with a layup and the Wildcats did the rest on the defensive end, holding Cherokee to one field goal the rest of the way.
