Tuesday night was a defensive struggle for the first two quarters in Council Bluffs in the Class 4A State Qualifying game between the Dallas Center-Grimes Girls’ and Lewis Central.

Lewis Central was the favorite to win on their home court, with DC-G players, coaches, and faithful traveling better than two hours westward.  The projected winner was the winner when the final horn sounded, but the Fillies didn’t go down without a fight.

The game was tied at 9 after the first quarter.  Both teams played stifling defense in the first half, playing a mix of man-to-man and zone.  The zone was effective in the first half for DC-G, because it limited the post entry feeds to Megan Witte, the Lewis Central star who averages better than 16 points per game.  At the intermission, DC-G trailed the Titans, 19-15.

The third quarter belonged to Lewis Central, as they outscored the Fillies 14-6, and spread the lead to 33-21 heading into the final 8 minutes of play.  DC-G has one more run in them before they finally were tamed.  DC-G was able to start connecting on 3-point shots, and their half court trap defense began to create mishaps and turnovers that turned into a big and-one conversion for the Fillies.  Just two minutes into the 4th quarter, DC-G had the lead down to just 4 points and all the momentum.

After a timeout called by Lewis Central, they regrouped and responded to put the final nail in the coffin, with the final score being 59-41.

DC-G also struggled from the charity stripe, which didn’t benefit the Fillies cause in the final result.

Jordan Cunningham ends her Senior year as a member of the 1,000 point club, and will continue her career at the college level next season.

DC-G Girls’ Basketball concludes its season one win shy from a state tournament berth, and a 17-7 record.