Monroe, IA- It has been 11 years since Mediapolis has been to Des Moines for the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union’s State Basketball Tournament. After taking down #6 PCM 49-42 for the Class 3A Region 6 championship on their home floor this past weekend, this group, led by six seniors, will get an opportunity at their first state title since 1973.
Coached by the tandem of Todd and his son Cade Borrison, the Bulldogs entered the game with a 23-0 record, while the Mustangs collected a 22-1 record for the year.
Nerves appeared to play a large role in the contest as the very first play of the game led to a wide-open Lila Milani lay-up that she threw too hard off the glass for an early miss. Both teams struggled in terms of offense, as the Mustangs keyed on stopping the Mediapolis three-point shot and the Bulldogs supplied relentless pressure. For Mediapolis, they were well versed on what the plan was.
“The biggest thing I’ve learned is just making sure that you have your kids ready to go every night, and that starts in practice, and that always carries over to games” said coach Cade Borrison. “And all the preparation, I’ve learned a lot from my dad. And yeah, I’ve just, it’s been so much fun, and I couldn’t ask for a better coach to work with.”
The Bulldogs’ pressure allowed for Amilia Grier to snatch six first quarter points, while the outside containment meant Josie Hutcheson was able to roll to the basket or cut backdoor as she supplied six points of her own in the first quarter. Despite holding a 15 to 8 lead at the end of the 1st quarter, PCM would not go away easy.
The Mustangs boasted a defense that held their opponents to 29 points per game in their 22 victories and their physicality kept the Bulldogs to just five points in the second quarter, while a Tori Lindsay three-pointer at the buzzer brough the score even at 20 heading into the break.
A year ago, the Bulldogs were ousted by Benton in the Regional Semifinal at home. A day after the team was back in the gym, adamant that would not happen again.
“This group’s been working so hard, just about every day, just been running, running, running” explained Coach Todd Borrison. “And to finally punch your ticket to the state tournament, it’s gotta be a special feeling. It’s a great feeling, you know, and you really feel for the kids. We do a lot of basketball year, you know, year-round, and these kids have committed, and they put in the time, and they’ve kept, you know, getting better and better, and they’ve trusted the process. And the ultimate reward is punching your ticket, and they got to experience that today. And we’ve been close a couple times, but this is always a big hurdle to get over. And they just fought, and fought, and fought tonight, and I was really, really proud of them.”
Grier’s defense again led to quick offense for Mediapolis to start the second half and that separation was all Mediapolis needed, despite Lindsay’s 12 points in the second half for a game high 22 points.
Overall, Mediapolis tallied 18 steals and only made four three-pointers on the night, despite the squad averaging 11 per game. Grier led the way with 16 points, but Grace Holsteen added 11, including eight points in the fourth quarter, and Hutcheson added 13 points of her own. This cohesiveness is what coach Todd Borrison believes will carry Mediapolis through the tournament,
“Well, they really love each other, and they take care of each other, and they play together as a team. And I said before, our strength, our superpower is our balance. And that balance starts, to be a team of truly balanced kids, you gotta really like each other, and you gotta know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. And they really get the game, and they really, ultimately, they don’t care who gets any credit. They just like to win, and that makes it a fun group, and a group that you like to see be successful.”
The Bulldogs grabbed the #7 seed for the Class 3A state tournament and will face off against #2 Maquoketa at 8:30 pm on Monday, March 2nd. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 8:15 pm.