In a match up of area teams Friday night in Winfield, it was the Lady Wolves who advanced to the regional final with a 48-35 girls regional semifinal win over IMS. Winfield-Mt. Union got out to an early 12-5 lead after the first quarter behind smothering defense from the guard court and a huge effort on the glass. WMU would increase their lead to as many as 13 in the first half, dominating second chance points and points in the paint, while IMS went to Olivia Yutzy to get something going in the offensive end. Yutzy scored eight in the second quarter but IMS still trailed 27-18 at the half.

In the second half, WMU continued their relentless effort on the boards. The Lady Wolves ended the night with plus 24 advantage on the glass led by sixth player Logan Hartsock who grabbed 17 boards to lead all players. Following the game Winfield-Mt. Union Head Coach Mich Wachs talked about his teams work on the glass.

“That was definitely a focus, I thought it was going to be a key to the game, it was probably the best that we have rebounded all year. We have a lot of rebounds, but a lot of times it’s because we might be bigger. Tonight I thought with a passion, with a purpose, we had kids going to the glass, and obviously it was a key part of the victory,” Wach said.

IMS made a push in the third quarter and cut the Winfield lead to five but the Lady Wolves had an answer with a basket from Layne Davis and an and one from Logan Hartsock. IMS made one more push in the fourth quarter to get within 39-31 but would get no closer as the Wolves hit free throws down the stretch to ice the game. In the win Winfield-Mt. Union was led by a monster game off the bench from Hartsock with her team high 15 points and 17 rebounds. IMS was led by Yutzy’s 19 points. IMS ends their season at 14-10 while Winfield-Mt. Union advances to Monday’s regional final against #3 Burlington Notre Dame.