Last year’s Class 1A champion falls in opener

The Girls’ State Basketball Tournament opened this morning with the quarterfinal round in Class 1A, and the returning Class 1A champ Rock Valley had its hopes dashed for another title while the final game of the afternoon featured a wild finish. Second-rated Rockwell City-Lytton started out today’s games by jumping out to a 17-2 lead at the end of the first quarter enroute to a 50-28 win. Rockwell City-Lytton coach Dave Birks says his team has fun playing the game, and their experience really showed at the open of the game. Allison-Bristow coach Bruce Dall says his team “kind of got kicked around a little bit” in the first half but kept playing hard. It’s Allison-Bristow’s final appearance in the girls tourney; the school’s merging with Greene next year. Tricia Trotter made one of two free throws with two tenths of a second remaining as ninth-ranked Treynor edged number-four Bellevue Marquette 49-48. Trotter missed her first try and was worried about the second one when it left her hand. “I was, like, please go in,” she told reporters afterwards. Trotter was fouled under her own basket after Marquette missed a potential game winner. Treynor coach Gale Hartigan says her team “survived” and “got lucky.” There will be a new champion in 1A. Third-ranked Hinton outscored Rock Valley 15-7 in the third quarter to take command enroute to a 43-35 victory which ended the Rockets hopes of a fourth consecutive title. It also allowed Hinton to avenge a loss to Rock Valley in the 2002 title game. Jill Lacey, a senior guard for Hinton, says they’ve gotten “ten times better” than they were last year.