“Free” trip to state!

Dubuque Wahlert gave the Waukon girls basketball team its stiffest contest of the postseason last Friday, Feb. 25 at Oelwein High School. The Golden Eagles pushed the Indians late in the game before super free throw shooting by the Tribe clinched the 46-34 regional final win - and a second consecutive trip to the state tournament.

The top-rated Indians kept Wahlert, semifinalists at the 2004 state tournament, under wraps through much of the first half. Buckets by the post duo of senior Stephanie Snitker and junior Tiffany O’Neill launched the Indians to an early 4-0 lead. Soon after, Wahlert added a basket and a free throw to draw within one, 4-3. The one-point margin goosed the Tribe to a 7-0 run to finish the quarter ahead, 11-3.

The Indians didn’t let up in the second. O’Neill dished off to senior guard Sam Reiser for a score and then Reiser drained a pair of free throws. O’Neill landed another bucket to give the Tribe a whopping 14-point lead, 17-3.

At that point, Wahlert senior Calli Johnson took matters into her own hands, accounting for every score as Wahlert put together an 8-1 rally. Both sides managed one more basket before the half ended with Waukon still ahead, 20-13.

Third quarter action played out quite evenly. Waukon secured nine more points, but the Golden Eagles were close behind with seven to enter the final period down 29-20.

Wahlert tallied the next hoop, sinking a two-pointer to pull within seven. Snitker countered with an off-balance bucket, but the Golden Eagles picked Waukon’s pockets and converted the steal into a pair of points and a 31-24 tally.

With the clock nearing the 5:00 mark, the Indians spread the court, forcing Wahlert to foul. Although Wahlert hit some late triples, the Golden Eagles’ plan didn’t work as Waukon nailed 15 of 17 fourth quarter attempts at the charity stripe.

For the night, Waukon landed 21 of 28 free throw attempts, a major factor in keeping Wahlert at bay. “We shot free throws extremely well and, in the end, it was enough to hold them off,” pointed out Waukon coach Gene Klinge.

Reiser, who paced the Tribe with 16 points, was seven-for-eight from the line. Snitker and senior forward Emily Garrett each sank five of six attempts.

Klinge credited Wahlert for keeping the contest close. “I was concerned about their height. They’re the number one shot blocking team in their conference.” The Golden Eagles’ ability to thwart shots played a part in the second quarter. “They blocked a few of our shots and we just lost our aggressiveness,” the coach mentioned. “For the first time in two years, I saw our team play with concern instead of confidence and I thought we might be in serious trouble.”

Compounding the situation was the foul trouble a pair of Indians were in. Garrett picked up her third foul of the night with 3:34 left in the half and O’Neill was charged with her third 30 seconds later.

“We got ourselves in foul trouble, but Thea and Jordan Curtin came off the bench and did a tremendous job for us,” Klinge noted. “They were very important on defense and Thea contributed a couple of very big points.”

Wahlert’s stingy defense helped force 20 turnovers for the Indians. “I was disappointed in our ability to take care of the ball, but I have to credit Wahlert with some of that. They have very quick hands,” Klinge said.

The contest definitely pointed out a few areas in need of fine tuning before next week’s state tournament, but Klinge and his charges are still pleased with a win. “It was very satisfying to beat a team from a conference that big. And, it’s always a thrill to win the regional final and advance to state.”

Snitker finished the night with 13 points and six boards. She also picked up a trio of steals.

Garrett paced Waukon with five takeaways. She added seven points and five boards.

O’Neill ripped down a team-leading 13 rebounds. “Tiffany is proving that she can rebound with anybody in Class 3A,” Klinge added.

He also singled out senior guard Carlyn Wacker, who ended the night with five assists. “Carlyn did a good job distributing the ball,” he said.

WAUKON FG FT PF TP

Carlyn Wacker 0 2-4 3 2

Thea Curtin 1 0-0 0 2

Tiffany O’Neill 2 2-4 4 6

Sam Reiser 4 7-8 1 16

Emily Garrett 1 5-6 4 7

Jordan Curtin 0 0-0 1 0

Stephanie Snitker 4 5-6 3 13

TOTAL 12 21-28 16 46

3-point goals: Reiser

wahlert FG FT PF TP

Kelly Fassbinder 1 0-0 1 2

Emily Walker 1 0-0 4 2

Angie White 3 0-0 3 7

Mary Bridget Corken 1 1-3 2 3

Calli Johnson 4 2-4 4 10

Megan Callahan 1 0-0 4 3

Brianna Botsford 0 0-0 0 0

Ashley Neises 3 1-3 4 7

TOTAL 14 4-10 22 34

3-point goals: White, Callahan

Waukon will open the 2005 Class 3A state tournament Tuesday, March 8, with a 6:30 p.m. bout with MOC-Floyd Valley at Vets Auditorium in Des Moines. The Dutch own a 20-6 season mark and are ranked 14th.

Klinge added that he saw the Dutch win their regional championship last Saturday. He likened their play to that of the Indians. “They are very similar to us. They like an uptempo game with full court pressure and man-to-man defense. I think we have a height advantage, but they might be a little quicker. I think we’ll have our hands full.”

The winner advances to the 8 p.m. semifinals Thursday, March 10, and will face either No. 5 Denison-Schleswig (20-3) or No. 6 Keokuk (18-4). Championship action will be at 6 p.m. Saturday, March 12.

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