The #9 (2A) Grundy Center girls basketball team will make its first state tournament appearance since 2021 when it takes on #2 (2A) Panorama in a 2A state quarterfinal Wednesday inside Wells Fargo Arena.
Head Coach Matt Lindeman says it’ll be a new environment for his team, but he’s confident that his team can continue to play its brand of basketball by staying locked in to the task at hand.
“You’ve got to be able to handle the environment a little bit. You know, it’s obviously a bigger arena. So communication is key with those guys because it’s harder for us to be able to communicate with them. So that’s a little bit of a change. And then you just got to realize, hey, we’re still playing basketball. You know, it’s in a different venue. It’s where you dreamed of playing. And now you’re actually able to do that. Can you transfer that now? Just go play. Just go play, go lay it on the line for each other and go do it. And if you can, good things will happen.”
At 21-2, the Spartans enter the state tournament after a regular season and regional tournament where they had highs and lows, but seemingly always found ways to win. In the regional final, they finished strong despite being outshot and outrebounded by #8 (2A) Nodaway Valley in a 55-48 win. A key strength has been free throw shooting, as they lead the 2A tournament field in made free throws and lead all of Class 2A in free throw percentage at 68.6.
Panorama is making their third consecutive state tournament appearance. At 23-1, their only loss was to #3 (3A) Des Moines Christian near the end of the regular season. Lindeman says Panorama has some similarities to Nodaway Valley.
“Somewhat similar in ways to Nodaway Valley a little bit. Obviously, they can score. They have some good scoring threats inside and outside, like to push the ball, like to press, aren’t that deep, but they’re very athletic, very gifted basketball-wise, and so it’s a great task for us again. But with the mentality that we have and the attitude that we have right now and the confidence, you just go play it and just go lay it on the line. And we get an opportunity to go do it again. And now we’re down to eight teams.”
Tyme Boettcher leads the state tournament field with 19.9 points per game. The team leads the 2A tournament field in offensive rebounds.
The game will tip off at 10:00 a.m. on 99 The Wave with pregame coverage beginning at 9:30. The winner will advance to Friday’s semifinal against either Westwood or Central Lyon.
