Shocked. That was what the fans in the student section were feeling when the top-ranked state girls basketball team was down 41-23 at halftime against the eighth seeded Urbandale Jayhawks in the girls state basketball quarterfinal. Urbandale was on fire shooting 59 percent from the field and hitting six threes in the first half. The second half was when the girls got back to playing the basketball they have played all year, suffocating defense that causes lots of turnovers and missed baskets and lightning quick offense that runs the fast break well and rarely misses any open shots. They eventually completed the miraculous 18 point comeback which was one of the biggest comebacks in 5A state tournament history.

Urbandale got off to a quick start grabbing an 8-3 lead after hitting two quick three pointers and by the end of the first quarter, the Jayhawks had a 22-14 lead. In the second quarter, the girls closed the lead to six with a jumper from Maya McDermott ’20 to make the score 27-21. After that Urbandale went on a 12-0 run to bring the lead to 18 points at 39-21 and the half ended with a 41-23 Jayhawk lead.

In the second half, the girls woke up and started the half strong making their first real dent in the lead with a Kendall Nead ’20 three-pointer making the score 44-30. By playing solid defense throughout the half the girls were able to get the lead down to seven ending the quarter with a 50-43 score.

In the fourth quarter the girls kept playing solid basketball and got the lead down to two points when Maddie Mock ’20 got a key steal and on the ensuing fast break McDermott nailed a three to give the girls their first lead of the game at 53-52 and sent the student section wild as they had completed the miraculous 18 point comeback. The girls did not give up the lead for the rest of the game and Mock had a huge rebound with two defenders draped over her after a missed Nead free throw, she then passed the ball to Nead who was fouled and extended the girls lead to 59-55. They shot free throws the rest of the way and went on to win by a final score of 66-57. The girls advance to the semifinals where they will play the fifth ranked Valley Tigers on Feb. 28 at 10:00 am.

Full Player Statistics:

Starters

Maya McDermott ’20: 22 points, two rebounds, two assists, one steal

Macy Thompson ’19: four points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals

Kendall Nead ’20: 15 points, five rebounds, one block, one steal

Maddie Mock ’20: four points, seven rebounds, one assist, one block, one steal

Regan Nesheim ’19: 14 points, 2 rebounds, one assist, one block

Bench

Anna Gossling ’22: seven points, 100 percent from the field