On one end it was triumph, and the on the other it was heartbreak last night at Sigourney High School, as the #14 in Class 1A Sigourney Savage girls collected a regional semifinal victory over the Lone Tree Lady Lions in an instant classic on KCII.
The game started much like it did Tuesday night in the regional quarterfinal round for Sigourney, getting out to a 22-6 lead after the first frame to take the early command of the contest. Both sides scored 12 in the second, preserving the potent lead for the Savages heading into the second half. However, the Lady Lions were awakened in the locker room, as Lone Tree outscored Sigourney by nine points heading into the fourth and final quarter when it all counted. Nursing a seven point advantage, the Savages locked themselves into a blow-for-blow scoring frenzy with the Lady Lions, with Lone Tree continuing to erase the gap little by little. Lone Tree would get the gap as close as three points, but would not be able to muster enough to come all the way back, falling to the #14 Savages by a final of 64-60, sending Sigourney to the Class 1A Region 7 final next Wednesday.
Unofficially, Sigourney pulled down 40 total rebounds in the game, outrebounding Lone Tree by four. Turnovers were knotted at 14 apiece. Individually, Sigourney was led by Josephine Moore and Brynn Clarahan, who combined for 43 total points in the victory. The pair took over the fourth frame for the Savages, combining for 17 in just the final eight minutes alone. Moore earned Washington County Hospital and Clinics Player of the Game honors in the win, while Clarahan joined KCII Sports postgame to talk about her second career postseason win. “My team doesn’t want to be done,” Clarahan said.
Clarahan also took time to preview Wednesday’s regional final. Clarahan said, “We’re just going to come out with all the energy we can get, and we know what we’ve got, so we’re just going to put it all on the floor.”
Sigourney Head Coach Kaylee Weber joined KCII Sports postgame to go over what allowed her team to capture the narrow home victory. “I’m just so proud of them [my players],” Weber said. “They made in-game adjustments, they moved the ball well, they made what they needed to make. They played defense in the last three minutes, and that’s what sealed the deal.”
Lone Tree was led by Finley Jacque’s 19 points.
With the win, Sigourney is now one victory away from qualifying for their first state tournament since 1992. Their opponent in the regional final will be the Springville Orioles, who took down Highland Friday night. Lone Tree ends their season at 20-4, and will say goodbye to seniors Rylee Shield, Cate Sexton, Haley Bockelman, Vivian Zaruba, Hayden Yoder, Sami Branson and Madison Floyd.