Anna Kiel's record rebounding and intimidating defense helped put defending champion Unity Christian back in the Class 2A title game at the 2016 Iowa High Girls Basketball State Tournament.

And the Knights will see a familiar opponent when they get there.

Kiel grabbed 24 rebounds to match the overall tournament record, scored 16 points and blocked seven shots as third-ranked Unity beat No. 2 Iowa City Regina 53-45, dealing the Regals their first loss Thursday afternoon (March 3, 2016).

Unity will try for its second consecutive title at 8 p.m. Friday against top-ranked Western Christian, which won three straight championships before Unity took the crown last year.

Only 16 miles of blacktop highway separate the two schools in the northwest corner of the state and they've played once already this year, Western Christian prevailing 59-48 at home on Jan. 16.

Unity also got 11 points and seven rebounds from Deidra Noteboom and another 11 points from Chanda Zomermaand, including four late free throws to help secure the victory.

Kiel's rebounds were the most in a Class 2A game and tied the overall tournament record set in 2007 by WCLT's Stacey Schutjer.

Mary Crompton led Regina with 13 points, while Sarah Lehman and Greyson Dumont each scored 12. Dumont went 4-for-5 from 3-point range and fueled a comeback after Unity appeared on its way to an easy victory.

Regina trailed 38-19 early in the fourth quarter and had been frustrated trying to go inside against Kiel and her teammates on the frontline. So the Regals looked to the perimeter and made five 3s in an 18-3 run that cut the lead to 41-37.

The momentum had swung, but Unity worked the ball patiently on its next two possessions and got it to Kiel for layups, producing a 45-38 lead. Zomermaand's four free throws made it 49-38 with 32.6 seconds left and the Knights were out of danger.

Regina finished 25-1 after its third state tourney trip in four years.

Story Courtesy of IGHSAU


Iowa CIty Regina vs Unity Christian
3/3/16 3:15 at Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, IA

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VISITORS: Iowa CIty Regina 25-1
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
02 Crompton, Mary...... *  3-12   3-7    4-4    2  3  5   3  13  2  0  0  1  29
15 Lehman, Sarah....... *  5-13   0-0    2-4    2  2  4   2  12  1  5  0  1  24
20 Brown, Kennedy...... *  1-10   0-1    0-0    0  0  0   4   2  3  2  2  1  29
22 Dumont, Greyson..... *  4-6    4-5    0-0    2  1  3   4  12  1  1  0  1  25
24 Verducci, Cammy..... *  2-10   2-9    0-0    0  0  0   4   6  3  0  0  2  26
14 Gaarde, Lauren......    0-2    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   0   0  0  1  1  3  12
23 Wallace, Kennedy....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   3
40 Hamilton, Madeline..    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
50 Dunn, Katie.........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   2   0  0  0  1  0  11
   TEAM................                         2     2
   Totals..............   15-53   9-22   6-8    9  6 15  19  45 10  9  4  9 160

TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  4-26 15.4%   2nd Half: 11-27 40.7%   Game: 28.3%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  2-7  28.6%   2nd Half:  7-15 46.7%   Game: 40.9%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  0-0   0.0%   2nd Half:  6-8  75.0%   Game: 75.0%    2


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HOME TEAM: Unity Christian 24-1
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
10 Zomermaand, Chanda.. *  3-9    1-4    4-5    0  1  1   2  11  2  4  1  0  32
12 Fedders, Alyssa..... *  2-5    0-2    2-2    1  1  2   3   6  4  8  1  3  32
30 Kiel, Anna.......... *  5-11   0-0    8-13   6 18 24   3  18  3  1  7  1  32
34 Noteboom, Deidra.... *  4-6    0-1    3-7    5  2  7   1  11  1  3  1  1  32
40 Blankespoor, Josie.. *  3-3    0-0    1-2    4  5  9   3   7  1  6  1  0  25
02 Malenke, Justine....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
22 Zevenbergen, Brooke.    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  0  3  0  0   6
   TEAM................                         1  2  3
   Totals..............   17-34   1-7   18-29  17 29 46  13  53 11 25 11  5 160

TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  9-17 52.9%   2nd Half:  8-17 47.1%   Game: 50.0%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  1-5  20.0%   2nd Half:  0-2   0.0%   Game: 14.3%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  4-9  44.4%   2nd Half: 14-20 70.0%   Game: 62.1%    5


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Officials: Kurt Walderbach, Todd Tompson, Ben Hauge
Technical fouls: Iowa CIty Regina-None. Unity Christian-None.
Attendance:
Score by Periods                1st  2nd  3rd  4th   Total
Iowa CIty Regina..............    2    8    9   26  -   45
Unity Christian...............    8   15   13   17  -   53

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