It seemed that was easier said than done, however, as the Trojans turned the ball over 30 total times and the Stormin’ Pointers ran away with a 67-31 victory at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

West Marshall senior Kayla Cripps said it was like she and her fellow Trojans forgot their entire gameplan.

“Basically we just passed them the ball, we gave it right to them,” she said. “No ball fakes, they just knew where we were passing them and they had big, long arms and were athletic and got a hand on it.”

Not only did West Marshall (14-8) give the ball up 30 times, that directly turned into 31 points for CPU (22-2). The Trojans also only attempted three more shots (33) than they had turnovers, and head coach Fred Zeller said that’s an easy way to lose a game.

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON - West Marshall junior guard Karlyn Snider (30) goes for a layup against Center Point-Urbana defender Karly Milikin (5) during the second half of the Trojans’ 67-31 loss to the Stormin’ Pointers in the Class 3A state quarterfinals.

“They scored a lot of points off of our turnovers and I don’t know how many shots we got for the game but it couldn’t have been too many,” he said. “It was mostly their defense that caused that and our lack of execution.”

Stormin’ Pointers head coach Phillip Klett, who’s team moves on to face Des Moines Christian in the semifinals on Thursday at 3:15 p.m., said his girls didn’t get off to a great start, but part of that was how West Marshall was playing.

“Early it was a little sloppy but that’s just how it is trying to attack a zone,” Klett said. “When we were patient and got good looks we were able to attack them and once we got the press going we got the tempo and I thought we were deeper too, so we were just trying to run girls at them.”

After the first few minutes it was only a 4-3 lead for CPU, but a couple of steals and run-out baskets quickly turned that to an 8-3 advantage, forcing Zeller to call an early timeout. Zeller would take his second timeout of the first quarter with 55 seconds left in the frame after the Stormin’ Pointers opened up 16-5 lead.

It would remain 16-5 by the end of the first, but in the second CPU turned the dial up even more by outscoring the Trojans 25-6 to take a 41-11 lead into halftime.

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON - The West Marshall girls basketball team poses with its quarterfinalists trophy after falling to Center Point-Urbana, 67-31, in the Class 3A quarterfinals of the Iowa High School Girls State Basketball Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. It was the 10th tournament appearance for the Trojans and the first time back at state since 2012.

“They were a little more patient and of course the press, that’s what gave them the momentum to jump out ahead,” Zeller said. “Our kids came out and our zone was giving them a little trouble in the half court, but they’re not a great half-court team. They are more of a transition and full-court press, but as the game went on and our kids got a little tired they stopped moving their feet and got some easy baskets in their half-court also. For the most part it was a tough matchup for us.”

When the teams came out for the second half, West Marshall could have easily laid down and let the Stormin’ Pointers get to a running clock, but it didn’t. The Trojan girls came out firing in the third quarter, and before anyone knew it the 30-point halftime deficit had been cut to 21.

“When we came out in the game, we were scared,” Cripps said. “They were No. 2, we were underdogs, we were down by a lot, so we came into halftime and just said, ‘you know what? Let’s just play our hardest, quit playing scared and just do it.'”

CPU would finish the quarter on a 7-0 run to get the lead back to 28 by the end of the third, and in the fourth the turnover bug bit West Marshall again, which allowed the Stormin’ Pointers to control the final frame.

Klett said his girls underestimated the Trojans in the third quarter and he had to refocus them to get the momentum back.

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON - West Marshall senior guard Kayla Cripps (22) flies through the lane past Center Point-Urbana defender Chloe Neighbor during the first half of the Trojans’ 67-31 loss to the Stormin’ Pointers in the Class 3A quarterfinals of the Iowa High School Girls State Basketball Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

“We talked about going out in the second half and keeping the energy up and, lo and behold, human nature kicked in and we died down a little bit,” he said. “Give those girls credit, they are here for a reason and they are a good team and well coached. They came out in the second half and started playing their game a little bit and it took us a little bit.”

Zeller said it wasn’t a surprise that his girls came out and played with some pride in the final 16 minutes.

“Most of the season we’ve been more of a second-half team, we actually had a lot of games where we came out early well for three or four minutes but kind of lapsed,” Zeller said. “I think our game in the second half was respectable, I don’t know how many points we scored and they scored but at least it was competitive for the third quarter. Our expectations were to come out and maybe compete, but that didn’t happen until the third quarter. Our kids didn’t quit and they played hard.”

Cripps led the Trojans in scoring with 13 points, the only West Marshall girl to reach double figures. She also fouled out in the fourth quarter, and when she walked off the court for the final time as a Trojan she said it was tough.

“Coming out of the game after I fouled out I got a little emotional since this was my last game,” she said.

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON

Nobody on the court was better than Stormin’ Pointer freshman Ryley Goebel, as she made a huge splash in her debut with a game-high 19 points and six steals to go with six rebounds.

“I thought their freshman girl just gave us fits, she’s long and we just couldn’t get passing lanes,” Zeller said.

Klett acknowledged that his freshman showed up in a big way, but she didn’t get the job done on her own.

“She is on the top of our press and got some steals there, her length really helps her,” Klett said of Goebel. “She’s a good finisher, but when we had other girls drive she was able to benefit from the extra pass.”

Adrianna Katcher had 17 points to finish behind Goebel as the only other Stormin’ Pointer with more than five points.

Karlyn Snider nearly reached the double figures for West Marshall after finishing with nine points, eight of which came in the second half.

“We were more comfortable, we didn’t seem as scared passing the ball in our offense,” Snider said. “The second half was a lot better than the first half.”

Grace Girard had three points and six rebounds in her final game for the Trojans, and Zeller said both she and Cripps will be sorely missed next season.

“Grace has come a long way in four years and she would never have been a good scorer, but she played good defense and was a good rebounder for us this year. I was happy for her to have the success she did this year,” Zeller said. “Kayla is a four-year letterwinner, she’s a good athlete and a good scrapper and did some athletic things against some pretty athletic people.”

Cripps said playing for West Marshall has been an absolute treat for the last four seasons, and she knows in the future she will be remembered for helping get the team back to the Well.

“It’s a great community, the parents are great, they always help out really well,” she said. “When many years pass, no one will remember what the score was or how bad you played, just that you got there and you played.”

Looking to the future now, West Marshall returns every player except Cripps and Girard next season. Snider said she and the rest of the returners now have a taste of state action, so they know what it takes.

“Next year we have a good shot at coming back. We’ve all played together for the longest time and we gelled together really nice,” she said. “Our ball fakes and our turnovers need to get under control. We need to pass sharper and cut more.”

Zeller said getting that first glimpse of what it takes to compete at state can spark a player to work hard to return, and he thinks that will happen with his girls moving forward.

“Any time you can get to the state tournament, that gives your kids some incentive to work in the offseason and get better and improve their skills,” he said. “We need a lot of time in the gym shooting, we are just haven’t been a real good shooting team.

“This experience was fun and I think it will help us down the line somewhere.”

CLASS 3A

Quarterfinals

Monday, Feb. 25

North Polk 59, Estherville-Lincoln Central 47

Waukon 48, Crestwood 37

Des Moines Christian 49, Roland-Story 41

Tuesday, Feb. 26

Center Point-Urbana 67, West Marshall 31

Semifinals

Thursday, Feb. 28

No. 1 North Polk (22-2) vs. No. 5 Waukon (19-3), 1:30 p.m.

No. 3 Des Moines Christian (23-2) vs. No. 2 Center Point-Urbana (22-2), 3:15 p.m.

Championship

Friday, March 1

Semifinal winners, 8 p.m.

Center Point-Urbana 67, West Marshall 31

WEST MARSHALL (14-8) — Avril Sinning 0-2 1-3 1, Kayla Cripps 5-14 3-6 13, Karlyn Snider 3-9 3-7 9, Teresa Disney 1-4 0-0 2, Grace Girard 1-2 1-2 3, Sadie Clark 0-0 0-0 0, Eliza Girard 0-0 0-0 0, Grace deNeui 0-0 0-0 0, Delaney Nichols 0-0 0-0 0, Avery Randall 0-0 0-0 0, Jaiden Hart 0-1 0-0 0, Abby Green 0-0 0-0 0, Kate Breja 0-0 0-0 0, Sarah Pierce 0-0 0-0 0, Renae Schaper 0-1 3-4 3. TOTALS 10-33 11-22 31.

CENTER POINT-URBANA (22-2) — Adrianna Katcher 6-10 3-4 17, Karly Milikin 1-3 0-2 2, Rylee Clark 2-6 0-0 5, Madie Willson 2-3 0-1 4, Callyn Fox 2-10 0-2 4, Hannah Kress 1-1 2-2 4, Chloe Neighbor 1-2 0-0 2, Bryn Hadsall 1-4 1-2 3, Peyton Kriegel 1-1 2-2 5, Ryley Goebel 9-11 1-3 19, Lauren Dufoe 0-0 1-5 1, Claire Neighbor 0-2 1-2 1. TOTALS 26-53 11-25 67.

W. Marshall 5 6 15 5 — 31

CPU 16 25 13 13 — 67

3-Point Goals–WM 0-6 (Snider 0-3, Sinning 0-2, Hart 0-1), CPU 4-14 (Katcher 2-5, Kriegel 1-1, Clark 1-5, Milikin 0-1, Willson 0-1, Hadsall 0-1). Rebounds–WM 29 (Disney 9), CPU 31 (Clark 7). Assists–WM 3 (three with 3), CPU 15 (Willson 4). Total Fouls–WM 21, CPU 20. Fouled Out–Cripps.

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