GIRLS HOOPS: No. 7 Treynor outlasts No. 13 NV in regional game

TREYNOR — The game was playing out perfectly for 13th-ranked Nodaway Valley’s bid to upset No. 7 Treynor on the Cardinals’ home court Friday night.

Lindsey Davis scored 10 points as the Wolverines built a 24-15 halftime lead, extending it to a 16-point margin at 34-18 midway through the third quarter.

Treynor seized the momentum with a 12-0 run to close the period, pulling within 34-30 entering the final quarter. The Cardinals drained three straight 3-pointers to open the fourth period in quickly establishing a 41-36 lead in front of the roaring home crowd.

Treynor (21-2) held on for the 51-47 victory to advance to Wednesday’s Class 2A Region 7 final at Harlan against No. 9-ranked Panorama (21-2). Panorama defeated Central Decatur Friday, 74-32.

“The momentum switched and you could feel it,” Nodaway Valley coach Brian Eisbach said. “At halftime we knew they would come with pressure. I think maybe we lost our concentration at times with our passes. We knew they weren’t going to go away, that it would be a hard-fought game in the second half.”

The Wolverines were stuck on 34 points for the final three minutes of the third quarter and first two minutes of the fourth as Treynor’s contingent of shooters heated up and turned a 34-18 deficit into a 38-34 lead. Four different Cardinals made at least one 3-pointer.

“We just weren’t hitting shots until the second half of the third quarter,” Treynor coach Joe Chapman said. “Coach Eisbach did a great job of game planning and everything was falling their way. We have enough shooters that you just have to be patient until you hit one or two of them. Once we hit a couple and got the crowd behind us, that helped.”

Izzy Eisbach, playing with four fouls since early in the third quarter, made a 3-pointer to pull Nodaway Valley within 51-49 as the Wolverine offense got back on track in the latter half of the fourth quarter.

A key sequence occurred with the Wolverines trailing 45-41 with two minutes to play. Davis, who finished with a team-high 15 points, caused a Treynor turnover with a steal. Clara Tiegland, the Cardinals’ season-long scoring leader, stole it back and converted the transition layup for a 47-41 Treynor lead with 1:35 left. The Wolverines were able to shave only two points of that deficit down the stretch.

Eisbach praised his team’s attempt at completing the upset as a road team.

“We’re very familiar with ACGC and they came in here Tuesday and lost by 30,” he said. “We said that could happen to us if we don’t do these things, and I thought our kids did a great job.”

The only senior on the Nodaway Valley girls basketball team is manager Madison Long, so Eisbach returns his entire roster from an 18-5 team that won the Pride of Iowa Conference title by one game over Martensdale-St. Marys. The only losses were to ranked teams — Class 3A No. 2 Solon, Class 3A No. 14 Atlantic, Class 1A No. 7 St. Albert Catholic and Class 2A No. 9 Panorama.

“Five losses to ranked teams with some hard non-conference games on purpose to get us ready for this type of game tonight,” Eisbach said. “Fortunately, I get to coach them all again next year.”