April 25, 2024

Orioles edge Hawks out of 1A regional title

By Jocelyn Sheets

Brenna Lanser (20) shoots over a defender in Lynnville-Sully’s regional semifinal game Friday in Sully. On Monday, the 10th-ranked Hawks lost their bid to go to the Class 1A state basketball tournament, losing to Springville at Iowa City. (Jocelyn Sheets)

IOWA CITY — It was a matchup of ranked teams with a Class 1A regional championship and state tournament berth on the line.

Basketball fans in the Iowa City West High gymnasium appeared to get their money’s worth as No. 10 Lynnville-Sully’s Hawks played No. 11 Springville’s Orioles Monday night in the Class 1A Region 5 title game. After three quarters of play, the teams were locked in a 32-all contest.

Unfortunately, the Hawks suffered their second loss of the season, which ended their season. The Orioles outscored Lynnville-Sully 13-8 in the fourth quarter to claim a 45-40 victory. Springville advances to next week’s Class 1A state tournament in Des Moines.

“I could not be more proud of the girls. They really battled tonight,” said Jerry Hulsing, Lynnville-Sully head coach. “Unfortunately, we just didn’t get enough bounces our way to pullout the win. A couple of breakdowns on defense and missed chances on offense made the different tonight.”

The Hawks had a one-point lead at the end of the first quarter, 8-7. They still owned that margin at halftime, 20-19. Springville poured in 13 points in the third quarter while holding Lynnville-Sully to 12 points, forging the 32-32 tie.

Lynnville-Sully shot just 30 percent, 13-of-43, from the field. Springville connected on 18-of-45 field goal attempts for 40 percent. The Hawks cashed in on 10-of-16 free throw attempts and the Orioles went 4-of-9.

The Hawks turned the ball over 17 times to the Orioles’ 14 miscues. Lynnville-Sully had a 34-28 rebounding edge.

Breanna Lanser had a double-double with 10 points and 16 rebounds. She also made three steals. Seniors Madison Rasmusson, Shelby Davis and Lysandra James scored nine, eight and seven points, respectively, in their final basketball game for the Hawks. Davis dished out five assists.

Kasiah Ehresman had five points and Marissa Vos added one points.

Springville was led by Rylee Menster with 13 points and six steals. Sarah Matus chipped in 11 points.

“I really appreciate the girls efforts this season,” Hulsing said. “They did everything that us coaches asked. This is a great group of girls to coach and they made this season a lot of fun.”

Lynnville-Sully finished 22-2. The Hawks went 19-1 to win the South Iowa Cedar League championship.

Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
641-792-3121 ext. 6535
or jsheets@newtondailynews.com