DES MOINES, IOWA (Iowa Media Wire) – The unbeaten Westwood Rebels made its first return to the IGHSAU Basketball State Tournament since 2001, and the three-seed Rebels made sure they weren’t going home early, capping a late comeback over six-seed and last year’s runner up Central Lyon for a 35-32 victory in the Class 2A State quarterfinals.
Lions began with a roaring start, kicking off the game on a 10-0 run. But the Rebels responded trimming the deficit to 16-9 after the first quarter.
Central Lyon continued going inside as Dordt commit Desta Hoogendoorn finished with 11 points and 9 rebounds for the Lions. However, Westwood wouldn’t lose hope battling back to trail by only 4 points at halftime.
Westwood outscored the Lions 4-2 in the third quarter, going on to take its first lead of the game from an Addy Johnson free throw. Johnson buried four free throws in the final minute to create a Rebel cushion as the Lions ran out of time for a response, earning Westwood the 35-32 win in its first State appearance in over two decades.
“It was a dream coming here and it was absolutely surreal,” Westwood senior forward Addy Johnson said. “Getting that next step forward is insane, it’s been a moment we’ve all been looking for and it’s awesome.”
“I think a lot of people, especially at the beginning of the year, might have thought that we’d have a little bit of a down year,” Central Lyon head coach Heather Grafing said. “These girls, the way they responded to that and to hear those things and take those challenges and end your season here, I can’t ask for more than that.”
Central Lyon ends its season with a 20-4 record as Westwood improves to 22-0 while advancing into the 2A State semifinals against Panorama on Friday at 11:45am.