Girls’ tourney continues with 2A and 3A openers

The girls’ state basketball tournament resumed this morning with the opening round in class 2A.Cherokee scored the first 12 points and never looked back in the 62-40 victory over Carroll Keumper. Cherokee coach Curt Klaahsen says they were here two years ago and all five starters played on that team. He says they probably felt they had something to prove. Autumn Bartel had 26-points and seven steals for the Braves. The loss closed out a surprising tournament run for Kuemper which finished the regular season under-500. Kuemper coach Tim Fitzpatrick says his team deserved to be in the tourney, but didn’t play their best in the first half. The Knights finish 14-12. Also in 2A, top ranked Grundy Center fought off upset minded Pocahontas area for a 69-53 win. Nicole VanderPol had 24 points and ten rebounds as Grundy Center took command with a 10-1 run midway through the fourth quarter. Grundy Center coach Al Jones says it was tough going in the first quarter, but they adjust defensively and got doing on offense in the second quarter. The Lady Spartans outscored the Maidens 18-11 in the second quarter to lead 35-27 at the break. Grundy Center is 25-2. The Maidens finish 16-10. In the class 3A opening round third-ranked Cedar Rapids Xavier got a big challenge from number-seven Carroll and the Saints responded. Trailing 39-38 early in the fourth quarter Xavier went on a 19-4 run enroute to a 57-46 victory. Xavier coach Tim Lilly felt Xavier’s depth may have bee a factor down the stretch. Xavier is now 24-1. Carroll ends the season with a record of 23-3.