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No. 4 Wolfpack end Warriors’ postseason

HULL, Iowa — Ashtyn Veerbeek demonstrated why she’s already made a verbal commitment to play basketball for the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers in two years.

The 6-foot-2 junior standout produced a game-best double-double performance of 28 points and 16 rebounds to power the Iowa Class 2A, No. 4-ranked Western Christian Wolfpack to a 74-46 Region 1 semifinal triumph over the North Union Warriors on Friday night in Hull, Iowa.

Western Christian (21-2) advances to face Rock Valley for the regional championship at 7 p.m. Monday night in Rock Rapids, Iowa. Rock Valley eliminated No. 14-ranked West Lyon, 57-42.

North Union ended its season with an 18-4 overall record.

“They’re long and use that (height advantage) to control the boards, and they like to run the floor,” North Union head coach Merle Tigges said in reference to Western Christian on the heels of the Warriors’ regional quarterfinal win over Emmetsburg on Tuesday night. “We just have to figure out a way to slow them down.”

Trailing 10-2, North Union managed to control the regional semifinal’s tempo to its liking and inched within one with 3 minutes remaining in the first quarter.

Samantha Hagedorn nailed a 3-pointer before driving through traffic on the ensuing trip downcourt to net a runner for the Warriors to spur a mini-run.

Freshman post player Chloe Lofstrom, who topped the Warriors by netting 13 points on the playoff game, then hit a putback basket to trim the gap to 10-9.

Unfortunately for North Union, Veerbeek nailed an 18-footer to serve as the catalyst behind Western Christian’s ensuing 21-0 offensive avalanche that bridged the first two quarters.

Veerbeek drained one of her four 3-pointers en route to nine of the Wolfpack’s points during the run, while 6-1 senior forward Erika Feenstra delivered six of her 20 points on the game during the scoring surge.

Hallie Reese, who finished with seven points, countered by hitting a 3-pointer to end the Warriors’ scoring drought before Lofstrom banked home a baseline leaner.

Veerbeek hit another trey to later trigger a 10-0 run during the final 2 minutes of the opening half, but Lofstrom had the final word before intermission by hitting a last-second putback basket.

Trailing 51-23 in the third quarter, Kate Anderson knocked down the first of her three 3-pointers on the playoff clash to engineer the Warriors’ 13-3 comeback run.

Kate Anderson, who finished with 12 points, sank a solo free throw before teammate Rory McClellan connected on a 3-pointer. Feenstra hit a 3-pointer to momentarily interrupt the run before Breanna Anderson made a trey.

Lofstrom produced back-to-back putback baskets during the late stages of the third quarter to help whittle North Union’s deficit to 54-36.

That’s as close as the Warriors would get as Feenstra scored six points and Veerbeek nailed a pair of 3s to account for a dozen of the Wolfpack’s 20 fourth-quarter points.

Kate Anderson connected on two more trifectas during the stretch run for North Union.

Breanna Anderson finished with seven points for the Warriors, while Hagedorn finished with five points on the night.

Forward Karsyn Winterfeld tallied nine points for the Wolfpack, while teammate Jessi DeJager chipped in six points.

NU 9 9 18 10 — 46

WC 20 23 11 20 — 74

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