Heartbreak in Des Moines
In a state championship game pitting the No. 1 seed vs. the No. 2 seed – and the two teams that finished atop the final Class 4A regular season rankings – it seems only fitting it would come down to final shots.
Unfortunately for top seeded Glenwood it was second seeded Ballard’s final shot that proved the difference.
Josie Fleischmann’s three-pointer with 37 seconds left gave her Bombers their first lead of the second half and Glenwood couldn’t answer in three attempts in the waning seconds as Ballard completed a nine-point fourth quarter comeback to win the school’s first state title 47-45 at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines Saturday.
“We had our chances,” said Glenwood coach Brian Rasmussen after the game. “We had multiple looks. We didn’t just have one chance, we had multiple chances and that’s all you can ask for. We still have big time players that make big time plays, it’s just at that moment, the ball didn’t fall. You can’t fault the effort that got us the opportunities.”
Following Fleischmann’s three, the Rams called a timeout and with 24 seconds left to work with called a set for Jenn Hopp. The sophomore took the ball on the right wing and drove the baseline for a 13-footer that popped out. Glenwood’s Elle Scarborough grabbed the ensuing rebounded and fired a fadeway putback but that too rimmed out. Ballard would make one of two at the foul line leaving the Rams’ one last chance to tie it or win but Hopp’s desperation three-pointer from 30 feet bounced off.
Rasmussen and his squad, following a season that saw them go wire-to-wore as the No. 1 ranked team in Class 4A and reach the state finals for the first time in school history, were devastated by the loss. They led by as many as 11 points in the third quarter and took a 36-27 lead into the fourth quarter before the Bombers rallied.
“I didn’t have a speech prepared for this one, that’s how confident we were,” Rasmussen said. “We weren’t overly confident or naïve enough to think Ballard isn’t a good team. We knew we were going to have to work really hard. And our girls do work really hard and they play with toughness. They’ve been putting in the work the last 365 days to get to this point and it was our intent to get it done and we came up a bucket short.”
Ballard was among Class 4A's best defensive teams in the regular season, allowing slightly less than 28 points per game this season. The Rams’ 45 points matched a season-high surrendered by the Bombers but it was 27 points below Glenwood’s scoring average entering the game.
It was the Bombers that were the aggressors early. Their stingy man-to-man defense had Glenwood off kilter in a 10-6 start. They then opened the second quarter on a 5-0 run to extend their lead to 15-6 – the largest deficit the Rams have faced at state. That lead would remain at nine points with the Bombers leading 20-11 before Glenwood began to make its move.
A layup and a pair of three-pointers by Madison Camden and five straight stops on the defensive end keyed the Rams’ momentum flip. They closed the final 3:44 of the first half on a 15-1 run to take a 25-21 into the break. Camden scored 13 of her first half high 14 in the frame and Hopp pitched in nine.
Glenwood would extend their lead to double-digits in the third quarter, often using their pace to get buckets in transition.
But the Bombers wouldn’t go away.
A 36-27 lead to open the fourth was whittled down to a 43-43 game on a three-pointer by Fleischmann with 2:13 to go.
The Rams’ Coryl Matheny and Camden would each make a free throw, sandwiched around an empty Bomber possession, over the next 1:17 to put Glenwood back in front 45-43.
Ballard used a timeout to set up its final play. Fleischmann came off an elevator screen on the left wing and nailed a 23-foot game-winner.
The Bombers out-scored the Rams 12-4 over the final four minutes and 20-9 overall in the fourth quarter.
Rasmussen said the intent was never to sit on the lead. He even reiterated to his team they needed to keep attacking, keep being the aggressors but it was hard in the moment to slow the Bombers’ momentum.
“We felt good but I don’t think the girls went into complacency mode or started celebrating too early,” he said. “They knew they weren’t going to go away. We maybe played a little timid but we talked about still being the aggressor. We just didn’t get it done.”
The loss was the Rams only one to a team in Iowa in a 21-4 season.
“It was a great season,” Rasmussen said. “We just weren’t where we wanted to be at the end of the day.”
Camden finished with a game-high 20 points and Hopp added 14. Both were named to the all-tournament team along with Ballard’s Molly Ihle and Brooke Loewe, North Scott’s Asley Fountain and Dallas Center-Grimes’ Emma Miner. Camden led the Class 4A field with 14 points per game at state.
The Rams say goodbye to four seniors – starter Elle Scarborough and reserves Emma Hughes, Morgan Stanislav and Lauren Becker – that Rasmussen said will be hard to replace
“They’ve been a pivotal part of this program,” said Rasmussen, in his third year at the Rams’ helm. “Prior to this senior group, and this isn’t to take away from anyone prior, they helped grow this ship to put Glenwood girls basketball on the map. But it was all of them, the leadership the provide and the calming presence.
“We might have a lot of scoring coming back but we’re losing a lot of leadership. I know we have a lot of good players who will step up and fill roles but this is a tough senior class to lose.”
Rasmussen started coaching some of these seniors in the third and fourth grade and they were a big part of the reason why he accepted the Glenwood job three years ago.
“It sucks for them and stinks for the team as well and the community with all the support we’ve had we certainly wanted to come out on top. We’re going to miss these seniors.”