Marshalltown graduate Amber Henson said her match against Missouri’s Ella Overstreet was difficult because of the difference in mentality when trailing or leading.

“For the most part we were playing pretty safe and making pars,” Henson said. “When you’re behind you’re trying to be aggressive to catch up and when I was ahead I was trying to play safe and make a bunch of pars.

“It’s a lot of fun because I think it’s more of a team aspect. Even in team events you’re playing against your teammates in a way for the individual title [in stroke play].”

Henson pulled out a 2 & 1 victory over Overstreet to pick up her first win of the week and end the championship with a 1-1-1 record. She was one of three Iowa players to win singles matches.

T-R PHOTO BY NOAH ROHLFING - Amber Henson hits her approach shot into the 11th green during Friday’s final round of play at the 54th Junior Girls’ Four-State Championship at Elmwood Country Club. Henson birdied the hole to go 2-up on Missouri’s Ella Overstreet on her way to a 2 & 1 victory.

Early on Friday, Henson missed a couple of short putts and found herself 1-down through two holes and 1-down through six. Having to play catchup and get more aggressive to keep pace, pars on the seventh and eighth holes gave Henson a 1-up lead — a lead she would not relinquish.

Once she grabbed the lead, Henson said she began to feel confident with the short putts and started to play safer.

A birdie on 11 after draining a 15-foot putt gave her a 2-up lead and granted Henson the cushion she was looking for.

The next six holes of golf were mistake-free. Henson hit every green in regulation on holes 12 through 17 and made six straight pars, matching Overstreet hole for hole.

With a two-foot par putt on the 17th, Henson ended the match and gave Iowa its second match victory of the day.

“I was really hoping to win that match, so I’m glad I did,” Henson said. “I had a lot more confidence with all my shots and with my putting I felt a lot more confident on my back nine.”

This likely won’t be the last time Henson plays with or against Overstreet in the next four years, as the two are both set to play in the Missouri Valley Conference for college golf (Henson at Drake, Overstreet at Southern Illinois).

Nebraska took home the team title for the Ryder-Cup style event, stacking up 9 1/2 total points and winning four matches on Friday. Missouri finished one point behind with 8 1/2 points and won four of its six matches. Iowa finished third with 3 1/2 points after winning half of its matches — Henson over Overstreet, Katelyn Vaassen 2 & 1 over Lois Deeter of Kansas and Erika Holmberg’s 1-up win over Nebraska’s Julia Karmazin. Kansas had 2 1/2 points.

The rest of the summer is shaping up with a few more tournaments for Henson ahead of her arrival at Drake. She will be participating in the Iowa Junior PGA Championship with the hopes of qualifying for the national Girls’ Junior PGA Championship, as well as the Iowa Women’s Amateur at Cedar Rapids in July.

She’s hoping to make an impact as soon as she can with the Bulldogs.

“I’ve been playing pretty decent recently, so it’s really motivating me to get even better,” Henson said.