Knight comeback comes up short at state

DES MOINES - A first half of 29 percent shooting and a near eight minute scoring drought while getting down 33-22 would be enough to dampen almost any coach’s mood.

Not Fremont-Mills Coach Rod Williams.

“There’s no quit in these kids. I knew, at halftime, I had no doubt, this game would be decided in the last possession,” Williams said after the game.

Williams was right.

Unfortunately for Fremont-Mills that final possession came down to a desperation heave by Macy Williams from 40 feet that clanged off the rim to give Springeville a 53-50 victory over the Knights in the Class 1A opening round at the Iowa State Basketball Tournament.

The Knights (23-2) opened the game hot, hitting three of their first four shots, including two from three point range, to match Springville (22-3) at 8-8 the first two minutes of the game. But then Fremont-Mills went cold. Really cold.

While the Orioles were busy rattling off a 17-3 run – thanks to blistering 78.9 percent shooting the first half – the Knights struggled to find their touch, hitting just one of their next 14 shots and getting down by as many as 17 in the second quarter. Fremont-Mills was able to cut into that lead  to make it 33-22 at halftime but finished just 7-of-24 from the field, including 4-of-17 behind the arc.

“They shot fantastic that first half,” Coach Williams said. “Everything they put up rolled around and went in and we were subpar the first half. But I felt going into halftime, we were starting to get an edge.”

At halftime Coach Williams talked to his team about resilience and coming out in the second half showing what kind of team they are.

“We were scrambling too much on defense and they made us pay. I didn’t think they’d shoot like that,” Coach Williams said. “Overall, we dug ourselves a hole that was attainable and I thought the girls really battled to get back in it.”

With a switch to man-to-man defense, Fremont-Mills quickly trimmed the Orioles’ lead to 39-35 after Macy Williams struck from three with 3:54 to go in the frame. A Springville turnover on the other end led to a Macy Williams runner to make it 39-37 but that was as close as they’d get in the quarter as the lead was back to four heading into the final quarter.

In the fourth, the Knights got down 45-39 before once again rallying. A layup by Macy Williams and a three by Taryn Williams trimmed the Orioles’ lead to 45-44 with 3:45 to go. Following a Madi Wagaman layup, Macy Williams tied the game at 47-47 with a three pointer.

The score would remain deadlocked until the Orioles rattled off three straight points to take a 50-47 lead with 1:15 to go. Following a Megan Wagaman miss at the free throw line, the Knights ran a set play to free Taryn Williams on the right wing. The senior didn’t disappoint, knocking down her fifth triple of the game to tie the score at 50-50 with 28 seconds to go.

Springville would  respond 17 seconds later when Megan Wagaman wiggled free for a layup and the 52-50 lead. With 11.6 seconds to go, Coach Williams called a called a timeout to run a final play for either Macy Williams or Taryn Williams popping free off double screens. Macy took the inbounds pass and saw an opening, firing a 22- footer that just rimmed out with 4.3 to go.

“The play was actually designed to go Macy off a screen to the right and if that wasn’t there, we were going to hit T (Taryn Williams) coming off the top of the key,” said Coach Williams. “We were supposed to do it with enough so if it missed we’d have a shot at a rebound. It just didn’t workout that way. ”

The Orioles’ Sarah Matus snagged the rebound on Macy’s missed shot but hit just one of two at the line after getting fouled, giving the Knights a sliver of hope. But Macy Williams’ heave from halfcourt missed.

Macy Williams said it will be hard to forget any of the shots that didn’t go down for the Knights in such a close ball game.

“We had a couple open shots at the end that could have gone down,” said Macy Williams, who finished with a game-high 20 points. “But we hit them to get us back in it. I thought it (the last shot) was going in but it was off to the right. That’ll keep playing in my head the rest of my life.”

The loss wraps a historic season for the Knights. Their 23 wins are a school record and the state tournament appearance is the school’s first since 1965. The game was the last for Knight seniors Kelsey Hurley, Macy Williams, Taryn Williams and Andrea McClary, all four-year contributors.

“It’s tough to say goodbye to them,” Coach Williams said. “I told them you have to use these moments as you go in the future or to the next level. They’ve always had great attitudes and that’ll continue.”