Cougars end Bearcats season with 55-30 regional win

AGWSR hits 11 3-pointers while advancing to next round

By John Burbridge sports@charlescitypress.com

ACKLEY — High-arcing 3-point shot attempts tend to provoke two types of sounds.

The first is the subtle collective inhaling din from the home crowd followed by — whenever a successful splashdown — the exhaled outburst.

The AGWSR Cougars gave their fans a lot in inhale and exhale about as 11 of their rafters-reaching bombs found their mark while eliminating the visiting North Butler Bearcats, 55-30, in the first round of the Class 1A-Region 3 girls basketball bracket on Monday.

The win advanced Class 1A 14th-ranked AGWSR (17-4) to the quarterfinals next Tuesday (Feb. 14) where it will host the winner of the Tripoli vs. Clarksville that also took place on Thursday.

For the Bearcats (7-12), this was the end of the road.

North Butler took an 8-2 lead with Marcy Jacobs scoring in the post. But then the Cougars started connecting from downtown as Alana Groninga’s 3-pointer put them up 9-8.

The Bearcats led 13-12 after the first quarter, and after AGWSR went on a 7-2 run, Hallie Testroet hit a 3-pointer to keep it close (19-17) before Maddie Brandt’s 3-pointer gave the Cougars a 22-17 lead.

It was the third quarter in which the Bearcats were outscored 23-4 that hastened the end of North Butler’s 2016-17 campaign.

A pair of inside baskets by Rachel Sicard, and 3-pointers on consecutive possessions by Mandy Willems and Brandt helped put the Cougars up by 20 (39-19) with 2:30 left in the third quarter.

Brandt led all scorers with 16 points, and Sicard added 10 for the Cougars.

Emy Osterbuhr’s 9 points led the Bearcats.

Class 1A-Region 3

AGWSR 55, NORTH BUTLER 30

Scoring By Quarters

North Butler 13 4 8 5 — 30

ASWSR 12 10 23 10 — 55

NORTH BUTLER — Madison Pleas 3, Makayla Hauser 3, Marcy Jacobs 4, Emy Osterbuhr 9, Hallie Testroet 5, Nicole Heeren 6.

ASWSR — Alana Groninga 6, Mandy Willems 8, Aubrie Fisher 6, Taryan Barrick 4, Addison Johnson 2, Haley Bakker 3, Mariah Jimmerson 10, Maddie Brandt 16, Rachel Sicard 10.