By Becky Walz,
The amazing season came to an end Saturday for the Decorah girls’ basketball team as the Vikes fell to Waverly-Shell Rock in the regional semifinal, held in Waverly.
The Go-Hawks (18-5) advanced to the finals today, Tuesday, Feb. 22, in Waverly against North Polk. Decorah ends the year 15-7.
The amazing season came to an end Saturday for the Decorah girls’ basketball team as the Vikes fell to Waverly-Shell Rock in the regional semifinal, held in Waverly.
The Go-Hawks (18-5) advanced to the finals today, Tuesday, Feb. 22, in Waverly against North Polk. Decorah ends the year 15-7.
Oh, so close
Turnovers proved to be the difference Saturday night against W-SR as Decorah struggled in the early portion of the game. Decorah was able to produce just nine points in the first quarter, allowing the Go-Hawks to go up 16-9. Both defenses were on-point in the second period. Yazmeen Whitsitt and Bryar Duwe dropped in treys, while Brynn Storhoff and Haley Gossman each added two points before the break to inch within four points at 23-19.
W-SR started the third period on an 8-0 run in the first four minutes to lead 31-19 before Whitsitt connected on a pair of free throws. Decorah would only score five other points in the third as the Go-Hawks pulled ahead 40-26 with eight minutes to play.
Decorah dug into the lead in the final period, pulling to within eight with 1:30 to play. Fouling to stop the clock, the Vikings sent numerous Go-Hawks to the charity stripe, where W-SR went 5-for-10 in the closing 49 seconds. In the meantime, a trey by Whitsitt and a Duwe deuce pulled the Vikings to 49-43 with eight seconds on the clock to end their run.
“We accomplished a lot of great things this season and there is much to be proud of. Saturday, we simply ran out of time. It is always hard to see a season come to an end, but we have a lot to look forward to for next year,” said Coach Quandahl.
Yazmeen Whitsitt led the team with 21 points. Bryar Duwe produced eight points, while Autumn Schaller added six. Kylie O’Hara had two points. With two points apiece were Brynn Storhoff and Haley Gossman.
Decorah 9 10 7 17 43
Waverly-SR 16 7 17 11 51
Scoring – Whitsitt 21; Duwe 8; Schaller 6; O’Hara 4; Storhoff 2; Gossman 2
1,000 points
The Vikings opened the postseason in the regional quarterfinals at home against Charles City (0-20). It was a come-from-behind thriller for the home crowd as Decorah won 64-46, after trailing for the first three periods. Duwe started the game needing 21 points to reach 1,000 career points and reached the milestone in the closing minute of the game.
“Charles City played an outstanding game and were well prepped to play a competitive game. We had a slow first half and played a stronger second half, playing as a team,” noted Coach Shannon Quandahl.
The Comets caught Decorah flat-footed early on for an 8-0 lead before Gossman found the bottom of the net from three-point land. Following back-to-back baskets by Kylie O’Hara and a shot by Sami Mount, the Vikings tied the score at 11, before Charles City finished the period with an 18-13 advantage.
Whitsitt pulled the trigger on a trey at the 7:00 mark of the second period to tie the game and Gossman gave Decorah its first lead of the game on a free throw, 19-18. It was then that the Comets rattled off seven unanswered points. At halftime, Charles City continued to lead 30-28.
With every possession important, the Vikings remained patient on offense in the third period and ultimately claimed the 38-37 lead with one quarter to play.
Decorah had all the momentum in the fourth frame, outscoring the Comets 26-9 to get the win.
Duwe couldn’t be stopeed. She did the bulk of the damage by scoring 21 points. Gossman was also strong under the basket with 13 points and nine rebounds. Coming off the bench, Autumn Schaller hit 11 points to go with four boards.
Charles City 18 12 7 9 46
Decorah 13 15 10 26 64
Scoring – Bryar Duwe 21; Haley Gossman 13; Autumn Schaller 11; Kylie O’Hara 8; Yazmeen Whitsitt 7; Sami Mount 2; Brynn Storhoff 2
Rebounds – O’Hara 11; Gossman 9; Duwe 6; Schaller 4; Whitsitt 2; Storhoff 2; Assists – Duwe 3; O’Hara 1; Mount 1; Whitsitt 1; Gossman 1; Schaller 1; Steals – Duwe 3; Gossman 3; Mount 1; Schaller 1; Blocks – O’Hara 2; Gossman 2; Whitsitt 1
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