D-NH girls' record season ends in struggle with Cougars

DES MOINES – Dike-New Hartford girls basketball looked ready for a 12-round prize fight with Cascade in a Class 2A quarterfinal on Friday morning.
 
The Wolverines lost momentum in the second quarter, though, and as the offense dried up the Cougars were quick to put D-NH on the ropes.
 
Cascade leaned on offensive rebounding, aggressive drives to the basket and an overall disruptive half-court presence on both sides of the ball to end Dike-New Hartford's season, 61-44, at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.
 
The Wolverines end their season at 23-3, setting a school record for wins in a season. Cascade advanced to its second-consecutive state semifinal berth and will play North Union on Friday.
 
Nicole McDermott led Cascade with 20 points and eight rebounds, with Rachel Trumm adding 10 points and 10 rebounds. The Cougars outrebounded D-NH 37-26 and grabbed 12 offensive rebounds compared to eight for D-NH.
 
In the immediate aftermath, D-NH coach Bruce Dall couldn't say for sure what happened to the Wolverines' offense in the second quarter, shooting 0 for 13 from the floor and scoring just five free throws in the second stanza.
 
"We started off so well," Dall said. "It looked like we'd go toe-to-toe with them, but it just went blank on us. … Give Cascade credit, they do play good defense and they wear on you."
 

 
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There will be more success yet to come for the sophomore nucleus that started Wednesday's game –Weber, Knock and Foster all averaged 10-plus points per game – but Dall knows the shoes left by the Petersen twins and Aalderks, a key contributor off the bench, will be hard to fill.
 
"They played so hard, worked so hard and for them to bring a state trophy back in basketball, to hang a banner up, is something special," Dall said, "and it was a very special year with how they got here beating North Linn."
 
Dall said that the immediate future will continue to be a "dogfight" with several teams also bringing back young talent, but he also saw the big picture on Wednesday morning.
 
"I see a whole lot of little girls in the stands here at Wells Fargo," Dall said. "Now maybe it'll be their goal to be out here and lead them to a path of getting down here. I think this could be something that opens the door for future generations."
 
The full story appears in next week's Grundy Register.
 
DNH                 19  5   7  13—44
Casc                 15 16 17 13—61
   D-NH–Ellie Foster 3 0-0 7, Sydney Petersen 1 2-2 5, Baylee Petersen 2 9-10 13, Morgan Weber 3 4-5 11, Katie Knock 2 2-2 7, Avery Coulter 0 0-0 0, Rylee Wessely 0 0-0 0, Chloe Schipper 0 0-0 0, Allie Aalderks 0 0-0 0, Carlee Dove 0 1-2 1, Jill Eilderts 0 0-0 0, Sydney Latwesen 0 0-0 0. Totals 11-46 18-21 44.
   Cascade–Nicole McDermott 7 6-7 20, Anne Ryan 3 0-0 8, Jordan Simon 1 4-4 7, Rachel Trumm 3 4-8 10, Abbie Ruggeberg 2 5-6 11, Madison Gehl 1 0-0 2, Abby Welter 1 1-2 3. Totals 18-45 20-27 61.
   3-pointers: DNH 4-20 (Foster, S. Petersen, Weber, Knock); C 5-14 (Ryan 2, Ruggeberg 2, Simon).
Rebounds:DNH 26 (Weber 7, B. Petersen 6, Foster 3, Knock 3, Aalderks 2, Dove 2, Team 2, Latwesen); C 37 (Trumm 10, McDermott 8). Assists: DNH 6 (Foster 3, B. Petersen 2, S. Petersen); C 6 (McDermott 2). Steals: DNH 6 (Foster 2, Knock 2, S. Petersen, Weber); C 8 (Ryan 5). Blocks: DNH 2 (Knock, Dove); C 8 (Simon 5). Fouls: DNH 17, C 18.