Turkey Valley is making the most of its first-ever appearance at the Iowa High School Girls State Basketball Tournament. The top-ranked Trojans are one victory away from claiming the championship.

Thanks to a big second half from Morgan Kuennen, Turkey Valley rolled into the Class 1A state title game with a 79-67 victory over No. 4 Burlington Notre Dame.

Kuennen, a 5-foot-11 junior, scored 20 of her 23 points in the second half, making 7-of-8 shots after struggling through a 1-for-7 opening half. She also grabbed nine rebounds, blocked three shots, made three steals and deflected several passes.

Shelby Reicks, one of the many outstanding sophomores playing this week, added 22 points, four assists and six steals for the Trojans, who'll take a 26-0 record into the title game at 6 p.m. Friday. Emily Busta came off the bench to get 14 points for Turkey Valley.

Riley Kilbride led Notre Dame with 18 points in her final high school game. She'll play for St. Ambrose next season after playing in four state tournaments. Johanna Myers scored 15 points for the Nikes, Gabrielle Koelker scored 14 and Emma Lynch had 13 points and 19 rebounds, one short of the 1A tournament record.

Turkey Valley took control in the third quarter after a back-and-forth first half that featured five lead changes and four ties and ended with Notre Dame leading 32-31. Reicks drove for a layup to break a 36-all tie and start a 12-2 run that put the Trojans up 48-38.

Kuennen scored eight points in that burst, hitting two jumpers, driving for a bucket and sinking two free throws. The lead was never below seven points after that.

A key in Turkey Valley's strong second half was cutting off the Notre Dame dribble penetration that had been so effective in the first two quarters. The Trojans held Notre Dame to 31 percent shooting in the second half, shot 61 percent themselves and finished with 15 steals.

Notre Dame, the 2014 state champion, concludes its fourth-straight state tournament appearance with a 24-2 record.

Story Courtesy of IGHSAU


Burlington Notre Dame vs Turkey Valley
3/3/16 10:00 AM at Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, IA

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VISITORS: Burlington Notre Dame 24-2
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
12 Myers, Johanna...... *  5-9    2-3    3-5    2  1  3   5  15  0  4  0  0  29
20 Kilbride, Riley..... *  5-16   2-8    6-8    2  5  7   3  18  3  7  0  4  30
24 Hedges, Ashey....... *  1-5    0-1    2-3    2  0  2   4   4  1  1  1  1  22
30 Koelker, Gabrielle.. *  4-9    0-0    6-7    0  3  3   5  14  2 11  0  1  24
44 Lynch, Emma......... *  5-5    0-0    3-4    8 11 19   4  13  3  2  1  3  31
10 Tillo, Anna.........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0  0+
14 Rogerson, Reagan....    1-3    0-1    1-1    1  0  1   1   3  0  1  0  0   3
22 Hoanbrecker, Kaelyn.    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   4   0  0  0  0  0  13
32 Sorenson, Tigerlily.    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0  0+
34 Lillie, Catherine...    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0  0+
40 Delaney, Hannah.....    0-4    0-3    0-0    0  0  0   4   0  0  0  0  0   8
42 Crowner, Abby.......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0  0+
50 Blythe, Hailey......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  0  0  0  0  0+
   TEAM................                         1  1  2
   Totals..............   21-51   4-16  21-28  16 22 38  30  67  9 26  2  9 160

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-19 57.9%   2nd Half: 10-32 31.3%   Game: 41.2%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-5  60.0%   2nd Half:  1-11  9.1%   Game: 25.0%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  7-9  77.8%   2nd Half: 14-19 73.7%   Game: 75.0%    4


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOME TEAM: Turkey Valley 26-0
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
02 Njus, Macie......... *  2-3    1-1    2-2    2  0  2   3   7  1  2  0  1  16
12 Reicks, Shelby...... *  6-12   0-3   10-16   1  1  2   4  22  4  2  0  6  32
34 Nymeyer, Sadie...... *  2-8    0-3    5-10   0  4  4   3   9  5  1  0  1  24
35 Kuennen, Morgan..... *  8-15   0-0    7-10   3  6  9   4  23  0  1  3  3  28
55 Lensing, Delaney.... *  1-2    0-0    2-2    2  4  6   4   4  0  1  0  1  19
03 Huinker, Sloan......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0  0+
04 Schaufenbuel, Kayla.    0-2    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   2   0  0  1  1  1  13
11 Gebel, Kayla........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0  0+
14 Kuennen, Taylor.....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  1  0  0   3
22 Busta, Emily........    3-6    2-4    6-6    1  1  2   4  14  0  3  1  2  24
23 Martin, Stephanie...    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
   TEAM................                         1  1  2
   Totals..............   22-48   3-11  32-46  10 17 27  24  79 10 12  5 15 160

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-30 36.7%   2nd Half: 11-18 61.1%   Game: 45.8%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  2-7  28.6%   2nd Half:  1-4  25.0%   Game: 27.3%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  7-9  77.8%   2nd Half: 25-37 67.6%   Game: 69.6%    8

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Officials: Steve Wick, Bret Johnson, Curt Strouth
Technical fouls: Burlington Notre Dame-Myers, Johanna. Turkey
Valley-Lensing, Delaney.
Attendance:
Score by Periods 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Total
Burlington Notre Dame......... 14 18 11 24 - 67
Turkey Valley................. 12 19 22 26 - 79
Class 1A State Semifinals ... Burlington Notre Dame's #30 Koelker fouled out
at 2:39 and #12 Meyers at 1:16 in 4th.

More From Q98.5