DES MOINES -- A second-half shooting blitz sent Iowa City West back to the Class 4A championship game.
The second-ranked Women of Troy shot 74 percent in a second half filled with impressive offensive basketball and beat No. 6 Waukee 64-50 in semifinal action Friday at Wells Fargo Arena. West will take a 24-1 record into the championship game against Ankeny (22-3) at 8 p.m. Saturday.
In their first state tournament appearance a year ago, the Women of Troy lost to Des Moines East in the title game.
Ally Disterhoft, the only junior in West's otherwise all-senior starting lineup, led her team with 18 points. Mckenzie Piper and Tatum Klein each scored 11 points, while Jessica Shull scored nine on perfect shooting -- 3-for-3 from the field and 3-for-3 at the free throw line.
Disterhoft, who is getting attention from Division I universities, added three assists and two steals. Piper led the Women of Troy with seven rebounds.
Britney Boland led Waukee with 16 points and Megan Shryack scored 11.
Waukee used a 17-3 run to build a 19-10 lead early in the second quarter and led 22-15 at halftime. West made only five of 21 shots in the opening half, but found the range quickly in the third quarter, hitting Waukee with a 26-8 run to open a 41-30 lead. The lead was never below nine points after that.
West made 16 of its first 20 shots in the second half and finished the half 17-for-23. The Women of Troy pushed the ball up the court for fastbreak layups, hit mid-range jumpers and knocked down their first 3-point shots of the half after going 0-for-6 from long range in the first two quarters.
It was similar to Waukee's sizzling shooting in a first-round victory over Mason City. The Warriors made 13 of 14 shots in the second half of that game and won 49-47.
Waukee, in the state tournament for the fifth straight year, finished 20-6.
ANKENY 47, SOUTHEAST POLK 45 -- Ankeny won its rubber match with Southeast Polk and it came in the game that counted the most.
Maddie Manning scored five points in the final 73 seconds and teammate Krista Pettepier made a key block as fourth-ranked Ankeny beat No. 1 Southeast Polk to reach the Class 4A state championship game.
The Hawkettes will try for their 11th state title against No. 2 Iowa City West at 8 p.m. Saturday. A victory in that game would give Ankeny Coach Scott DeJong his seventh championship.
Ankeny and Southeast Polk split their two regular-season games, Ankeny winning 33-29 at midseason and Southeast Polk prevailing 55-31 in the regular-season finale. The Hawkettes improved to 22-3, while Southeast Polk finished 24-2.
The game turned out to be as intense and as close as expected.
Ankeny bolted to a 13-2 lead and led 18-8 after one quarter behind Maddie Muhlenbruck's seven points. But Southeast Polk's Caitlin Ingle led the Rams back into the game.
Ingle scored 11 points and had an assist in a 15-0 run that spanned halftime and pulled Southeast Polk into a 28-24 lead. Then the Hawkettes clawed back and when Manning hit a 3-pointer at the start of the fourth quarter, Ankeny went up 36-33 and never trailed again.
Manning, who has signed with Oklahoma, converted a three-point play on a drive to the basket to give Ankeny a 45-41 lead with 1:13 remaining. After Southeast Polk tied it at 45, Manning sank two free throws with 38.5 seconds left for the final points. Pettepier, who has signed with Pittsburgh, blocked Ingle's shot in the lane moments later and the Hawkettes held on.
Manning finished with 13 points, Muhlenbruck scored 12 and Pettepier had 10 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. Ingle led Southeast Polk with 18 points and Annie Panquite scored nine.
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