(Atlantic) Van Meter built an early advantage and withstood a late surge from Atlantic to secure a 64–51 victory in a Class 3A regional quarterfinal girls basketball game Saturday night in Atlantic.
Avery Banks, and Lydia Thummel led the Bulldogs with 18 and 16 points respectively. Ella Rosic added 12, Ivy Vaught scored 11, Aniston Netten, 4, and Alex Hogenson chipped in three.
Makenna Schroeder led the Trojans with 15-points, Zoey Kirchhoff, 11, and Madison McLaren, and Katrina Williams each scored 9. Bryn Lamp chipped four points, and Peyton McLaren finished the night with three.
Van Meter stormed out to an early 8–0 lead and capped the opening quarter with a 10–1 run to take a commanding 23–8 advantage. The Bulldogs stretched the margin to 26 points in the second period and went into halftime comfortably ahead, 47–26.
Six-foot post player Lydie Thummel paced the visitors with 10 first-half points, all scored from close range. Van Meter buried five three-pointers before halftime, as Ella Rosic and Avery Banks each drilled two from beyond the arc, and Ivy Vaught added another.
Despite facing a sizable deficit, the Trojans kept battling, edging the Bulldogs 10–9 in the third quarter and 26–17 in the fourth. Makenna Schroeder caught fire from long distance, knocking down five three-pointers — including two in the final period — while Kirchoff added another triple to ignite the comeback attempt. The Trojans trimmed the margin to 60–51 with less than a minute to play but couldn’t get any closer as the game closed out at 64–51.
The Bulldogs improve to 13-9 on the season and travel to Kuemper for a Regional semi-final on Wednesday, February 18. The Trojans season comes to an end at 12-9, including a third place finish in the Hawkeye Ten Conference and back-to-back winning seasons.
Atlantic Head Coach Dan Vargason spoke with the media after the game. The entire interview is posted below.
