The #11 (3A) Hampton-Dumont-CAL girls basketball team’s ability to bring pressure led the charge to a 63-44 win over Iowa Falls-Alden in a Class 3A Region 6 semifinal on Wednesday, as aired on 99 The Wave. The win advanced the Bulldogs to their first regional final since 2016.
The game was tied at seven with 1:39 to go in the first quarter, IFA took a 9-7 lead moments later and H-D-CAL went on a 4-0 run before the quarters end, to go up 11-9. In the second, H-D-CAL’s on-ball pressure started to weigh on the Cadets, as the Bulldogs went on a game changing 23-5 scoring run to go up 34-14 at the half. The Bulldogs defense continued to box in the Cadets in the third, by holding them to seven points in the frame to extend their lead to the largest of the night at 52-21. The Cadets had their best scoring performance of the game in the fourth with a 23-11 scoring run but were unable to climb all the way back in the time remaining.
Bulldogs Head Coach Miranda Stafford on achieving another season long goal and three controllables the Bulldogs are reminded of each game.
“It feels good. What an experience for this group. This team will be able to make the trek over to Estherville, experience all those things, play in such a big game, a fun game, and something they’ve dreamed about. They’ve worked for it. They set some goals and this is where we wanted to be. Super proud of them for putting the time in and giving themselves this opportunity,” says Stafford. “The three things that we can control, we can control our energy, we can control our effort, we can control our composure. I thought the last time we played Iowa Falls at Iowa Falls, we didn’t stay necessarily composed the whole time. I thought it was really important that those three things happened and the girls, one through ten that came on the floor, did a really nice job of that tonight.”
Brooklyn Valley and Jordan Valley each tied season highs with 19 points and 18 points respectively. MacKenzy Valley also finished in double figures with 10.
Cadets Head Coach Michael Collison on continuing to battle from start to finish.
“Gotta give a lot of credit to Hampton, they played a great game. We’re really proud of our kids. We battled hard. We talked about at halftime, we were down 20 going to the half. We talked to our kids about, we can’t make up the score in one possession. We gotta continue to play hard and do things the right way. The girls had it written on the whiteboard, keep your heads. They knew what we needed to do,” says Collison. “I was just really proud of how we finished. Our four seniors led us there. Addi, Erica, Cidni, and Brooklyn did a great job, of making sure that our kids who were on the floor were ready to go. They did a nice job.”
Elody England paced the Cadets with 16 points and Brooklyn Handeland finished with 10 points, including three triples to earn the single season school record for three pointers made with 56.
Hampton-Dumont-CAL (21-2) advances to the Class 3A Region 6 final at #6 (3A) Estherville Lincoln Central on Saturday, that will air 99 The Wave. Iowa Falls-Alden concludes its season at 10-13.
H-D-CAL Head Coach Miranda Stafford:
H-D-CAL Senior Jordan Valley:
Iowa Falls-Alden Head Coach Michael Collison:
