City High Moves On With Regional Win Over Muscatine
Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports
IOWA CITY – In the postseason its all about moving on.
Sixth-ranked City High didn’t earn any style points in its postseason opener on Saturday but the Little Hawks moved a step closer to a third straight state tournament berth.
City High never trailed Saturday but struggled to put away a game Muscatine squad in a 63-51 win in a Class 5A, Region 1 semifinal in Iowa City.
“I was worried about tonight because we were too casual and it showed,” City High coach Bill McTaggart said. “We were too casual going into this game and this game made me really nervous.
Aubrey Joens and Rose Nkumu combined for 48 points Saturday as City High (18-2) advanced to the Region 1 title game despite being outrebounded and outhustled for part of the game.
City High will host Bettendorf (16-6) in a regional final on Tuesday at 7 p.m. for a spot in the Class 5A state tournament.
“We know we can play better,” Joens said. “We have to know that this game is behind us and we have to be ready to play the next game and know that the next team is going to be better.”
City High scored the first five points of the game and was never in serious danger but McTaggart and the Little Hawks walked away from the 12-point win knowing there was work to be done before Tuesday’s regional final.
Muscatine (8-13) held a 32-26 rebounding edge that included 11 offensive rebounds and nearly tripled its scoring output from a 65-19 loss to the Little Hawks back on December 19.
City High led that first meet 43-11 at the half and held Muscatine to 21 percent shooting but couldn’t put the Muskies away until the final minutes on Saturday.
“I knew we were better but that was the worst defensive game we have played the entire season,” City High coach Bill McTaggart said. “I will give credit to Muscatine, they came ready to play and we were fortunate to win.”
City High broke open a 13-11 game with a 21-point third quarter to take a 34-17 halftime lead.
The Little Hawks led 43-23 with under two minutes to play in the third quarter but Muscatine battled back, cutting the lead to nine with under a minute to play.
“I think we picked it up on the offensive end but our defense was a little relaxed in the second half,” Nkumu said. “There is always something you can take from games and I think going to practice tomorrow we have to put in the work to make sure we are in the right places and communicating.”
Nkumu and Joens made sure the Little Hawks moved on.
Joens scored 22 of her game-high 25 points in the second and third quarters while City High outscored Muscatine 34-19.
Nkumu had 10 of her 23 points in the fourth quarter to help the Little Hawks hold on.
“I think our defense the whole game was just not there,” Joens said. “A lot of us were in foul trouble which didn’t help but our talking on defense wasn’t there.”
Zoey Long had 18 points for Muscatine which shot 44 percent for the field but committed 18 turnovers.
“We weren’t as focused as we needed to be,” Nkumu said. “We got a win and we have to come back to practice and get ready to be better on Tuesday.”
City High 13 21 13 16 – 63
Muscatine 11 6 13 21 – 49
City High (63) – Rose Nkumu 7-10 7-11 23, Eviyon Richardson 2-3 0-3 4, CeCe Kelly-Harvey 0-0 1-2 1, Andie Westlake 0-2 0-0 0, Ella Cook 2-6 0-0 4, Paige Rocca 1-6 3-4 6, Aubrey Joens 8-16 7-8 25, Totals 20-43 18-28 63.
Muscatine (49) – Zoey Long 6-10 2-2 18, Rylie Moss 1-4 2-4 4, Macey Rogers 3-7 0-2 7, Emily Woepking 4-10 9, Kaya Scholz 1-1 0-0 2, Alicia Garcia 4-7 0-3 8, Avarie Eagle 0-4 2-2 2, Madi Petersen 0-0 1-2 1, Totals 19-43 7-15 49.
3-point field goals – ICH 5-15 (Nkumu 2-3, Richardson 0-1, Westlake 0-2, Cook 0-3, Rocca 1-3, Joens 2-3), MUS 6-17 (Long 4-7, Moss 0-1, Rogers 1-4, Woepking 1-3, Eagle 0-2). Rebounds – ICH 26 (Rocca 8), MUS 32 (Garcia 11). Turnovers – ICH 10, MUS 18. Total fouls – ICH 15, MUS 22. Fouled out – MUS (Rogers). Technical fouls – None.
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