Survive, then advance: Spartans hold off strong Falcon upset bid in regional semis

There are hard fought victories, and then there are knock down, drag out brawls that more closely resemble a bare knuckle boxing match than a basketball game. Friday night’s Class 2A regional semifinal matchup between Grundy Center and Aplington-Parkersburg fell into the latter category.
           
“Both teams laid it all out there, and I’m just proud of our girls,” Grundy Center coach Matt Lindeman said. “Part of it is chaos. There’s a lot of stuff going on out there, and you’ve got to tip your hat to their execution.” 
           
The eighth-ranked Spartans (21-1) moved within one game of a state tournament bid after a 53-42 home win, but not before the upstart Falcons (14-8) gave them everything they could handle and then some. Amidst a packed house and rabid fans, the two teams walked off the court with 35 fouls between them and a mutual respect among the coaches, former colleagues at AGWSR.
           
“He does things the right way. Their girls play the right way. They’re well coached, and it’s just unfortunate that he’s gotten me a couple times here,” A-P head coach Jason Berkey said of his counterpart.
           
Lindeman’s squad an early boost from center Brooke Flater, who scored two inside baskets to push the Spartan lead to 6-2. The Falcons, however, utilized an unconventional “box and one” defense in an attempt to stifle Grundy Center star guard Hailey Wallis, and it was effective early. Two Jenna Bruns free throws and an Avari Everts transition lay-in pulled them to within one possession at 10-8 by the first horn.
 
“We want to play kind of ugly, to be honest with you, and get teams out of their rhythm,” Berkey said. “Grundy typically plays lower scoring games, so we wanted to try to get the tempo up and get some easy baskets.” 
 
A-P went on a 6-0 run to start the second quarter and led for most of the frame thanks to key buckets from leading scorers Jaycie Ellis and McKenna Oldenburger. Cora Saak tied the game at 16 with a transition lay-in off of a steal, and after two Ainsley Brungard free throws, Wallis, who finished with a game-high 17 points, had a golden opportunity to reclaim the lead for the Spartans after she was fouled on a three-pointer at the buzzer. The junior, however, made just one of three from the charity stripe, and the Falcons held an 18-17 advantage at halftime.
 
The two teams traded scores for most of the third quarter, and Wallis finally began to regain confidence on a long ball off of an out of bounds play that put Grundy Center ahead 24-22.
 
“Basically, it was just not letting myself get frustrated (and) not letting them see that I’m mad. Obviously, it’s really hard,” Wallis said. “I tried just doing my best, and my teammates did a really good job—when I was open—of getting me the ball. Whenever you’re falling in one spot, you’re trying to make up for it in another.” 
 
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Grundy Center will play against Pekin at Le Grand on Monday evening for a chance to advance to the state tournament for the first time since 2005. Follow the Grundy Register on social media for full coverage and updates.