Iowa City Regina girls basketball team shows Durant no love in Valentine's Day regional win
The Iowa City Regina girls got the perfect dose of love and basketball on Valentine's Day with a 77-51 win over Durant in a Class 2A Region 6 quarterfinal.
The Regals dominated Tuesday's home game from start to finish. The team is riding high as its marches one step closer to another shot at a state championship.
The following takeaways explain how the Regals won the game and look ahead to Friday's regional semifinal:
Regina saw quickly that Durant came into the game with an added edge
After defeating Durant twice this season already, Regina was widely considered the favorite in this third and more pivotal game. Regina beat the Wildcats by a combined 85 points in those first two contests, a staggering figure no matter the opponent.
However, rather than buy into the hype, the Regals recognized that the Wildcats' team that they saw in the playoffs would be very different than the one they saw in the regular season.
That mentality served Regina well as the Wildcats had their most competitive game to this point against them, scoring a season-high 51 points.
Regals coach Mary Rogers noticed that Durant's offense had more gusto than in previous games and said the Wildcats' top players stepped up when it mattered.
"They made their shots," Rogers said. "Was our defense probably not in the space that it needed to be? Maybe not, but they just hit really crunch-time shots. No. 12 (Avery Paper) went off on us and obviously (Isabelle) DeLong is one of the top players in our league and she did her thing. Whatever their game plan was, they were efficient in it."
Alli Clark looked like a young woman on a mission
From the opening tip-off, the Regals appeared to be in firm control of the game, particularly in the first quarter.
They outscored the Wildcats 22-9 in the opening frame, with junior guard Alli Clark accounting for 12 of those points. Whether it be knocking down three-pointers or aggressively making her way to the hoop, Clark was too much to handle.
That carried on throughout the game as she finished the night with 30 points, topping her season average of 14 points per game early in the second half.
Senior guard Grace Gaarde said Clark's growth over the years has been a joy to watch.
"Alli (Clark) is so incredible," Gaarde said. "She has grown up a lot more since becoming a junior and has become more confident in who she is as a player. It has been incredible watching her and playing with her is so much fun."
With the season on the line, Clark said she and her teammates hoped to avoid any potential rust after having this past week off.
"We had a lot of energy going into the game," Clark said. "I think that helped us a lot because a lot of our game and how we flow requires a lot of energy. So when we are knocking down shots, that really adds to it."
Where do the Regals go from here?
The Regals are headed back to the regional semifinals, where they will face Wilton, another opponent they have beaten twice in the regular season.
Clark said there are definitely advantages to knowing your opponent's strengths and weaknesses.
"We know that it is hard to beat a team three times," Clark said. "But we already know who their star players are and who is going to score most of their points. So it helps a lot because we know how to match up against them and how to win."
Rogers said her team needs to clean up things defensively to get another victory and advance to a second straight regional final.
"Tonight, there were some points where we were not communicating well enough defensively," Rogers said. "We have to break the habit of fouling and being out of position. That has to be a change that we make and the kids know that. They are going to work and are willing to do everything they can to get us where we need to be."
The Regina-Wilton semifinal is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at Regina High School.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Iowa City Regina shows Durant no love during Valentine's Day blowout
