The #11 (3A) Hampton-Dumont-CAL girls basketball team after leading early, trailed by nine in the second half but sparked a fourth quarter rally, when they needed it to defeat Clear Lake 46-41 in a Class 3A Region 6 quarterfinal on Saturday, as aired on 99 The Wave.
In a defensive ruled first quarter, H-D-CAL after trailing 9-8, took a 11-9 lead to close the quarter on a Jordan Valley triple. Clear Lake went on a 13-4 run in the second quarter, behind increased defensive energy and offensively establishing post play to take a 22-15 lead at the half. Clear Lake’s largest lead of the second half was 27-18 with 6:37 to go in the third. The Bulldogs from that point started to regain control of the turnover battle, which fueled their offense to trim the Lions lead to one point and then two points in the remainder of the quarter, at 29-28 and 34-32. The Lions went back up 36-32 heading to the fourth. Makenzy Valley drained a three to tie the game at 38 with 3:45 to go. The Bulldogs took their first lead since the second quarter on a pair of Jordan Valley free throws to move ahead 40-38 with 3:30 to go and never trailed again to survive and advance.
Bulldogs Head Coach Miranda Stafford on the team’s composure, the boost of electric home crowd and advancing in the playoffs for first time since 2021-2022 season.
“We just kept plugging away, not getting frustrated. We didn’t try to do too much. We didn’t hit the panic button because we’re led by five seniors, and when you’re led by five seniors who have been through it, they didn’t hit the panic button, even though every game from here on out could be their last game,” says Stafford. “The crowd was amazing. I can’t thank you guys enough. That’s huge for playoff stuff, is when you get a home game, you need that home crowd on your side. You’re at the survive and move on mode. It doesn’t matter if it’s pretty, it doesn’t matter if it’s by one, it doesn’t matter if it’s by 30. That’s the most important thing right now, we were able to pull that out. We get to come back to practice on Monday. We’re really excited about that.”
Brooklyn Valley went on a roll with 21 points including and Jordan Valley added 12 points for the Bulldogs.
H-D-CAL (20-2) will host Iowa Falls-Alden in a Class 3A Region 6 semifinal on Wednesday.
Head Coach Miranda Stafford:
Senior Lily Hambly:
Senior Charlee Morton:
