Des Moines, IA- There are no more undefeated teams left in Class 3A after #2 Maquoketa defeated #7 Mediapolis last night, 57-23, in the state quarterfinals last night. A legendary season for the Bullettes might have come to an end before the team wanted it to, but the memories will last a lifetime, and the standard has now been set.
“Yeah, that’s what we talked about in the locker room,” said head coach Todd Borrison. “I mean, not the outcome we wanted today. But yeah, 24-1, and we accomplished a lot. We have a lot on our resume from this year, and something that these kids can be really proud of. And we’ve been close a lot of times in the last eight, nine years. And this group busted through, and they set the tone for the teams to come. And that’s something we’re really proud of. And they’re the nicest kids, and they work really hard. And like I told them in the locker room, when we qualified, the first thing that came to my mind was like, all right, I got another week or week and a half, two weeks to practice with them. Cuz, it makes coaching fun when you’re around a bunch of kids that are doing it for the right reasons. And they work their tail off, and they wanna be coached, and it makes it fun.”
It was a clash of two veteran lineups with legacy on the mind. The Cardinals had clinched their first trip to the state tournament a season before for Class 4A and was ousted in the quarterfinals. Maquoketa head coach Chad Specht and the team agreed that they needed a tough schedule to prepare themselves for another run at state.
The Cardinals then played six ranked teams this season including the two-time defending Class 5A champion Johnston, who is currently undefeated and advanced to the state semifinals earlier yesterday. Their four losses on the season were against teams in Classes 4A and 5A. Their all senior starting five had answered the challenge to a 21-4 record.
Mediapolis’ six seniors—five starters—knew what heartbreak felt like after losing in the regional semifinals a year ago at home to Benton, 50-47. The Bullettes were back in the gym the next day, as the team traveled up to Wisconsin Dells for a summer tournament, competing against some of the best teams from neighboring states.
Both had felt challenged, especially Mediapolis after they had to knock off the #6 team in Class 3A in PCM in the Region 6 championship to get to the state’s capital. A moment that coach Borrison called his favorite of a season full of memories,
“…It was one of those games where our toughness got challenged, and it got real physical. And I just thought our kids really stepped up. And I always told them, I said, and I was talking to them about this first round game, to me, the nervy game, the tough game is getting here, and then winning that regional final. And for them to do it the way they did it on the road at #6 PCM, that really stands out to me.”
Unfortunately, the offensive firepower that saw Mediapolis average nearly 12 three-pointers per game and knocked down 31 threes in their first two regional matchups had seemingly disappeared. Maquoketa’s tough defense ruled by speed and height overwhelmed the Bullettes, causing six turnovers in the first quarter and allowing only eight shots.
Maquoketa took advantage of their height by dominating the offensive boards, collecting seven by the quarter’s end to take a 16 to 7 lead into the second quarter. The Cardinals were 21-2 entering last night when leading at the end of the first quarter. It became clear why that was true.
The Cardinals kept the pressure on defensively and continued to pound the paint with Aubrey Kroymann, who finished the night with 19 points, five offensive rebounds, three steals, and a block. Lacking made baskets, Mediapolis could not get set into their full-court pressure defense, resulting in a team averaging 19 steals per game managing just three for the night.
Overall, Mediapolis committed more turnovers, 29, than shots attempted, 25, while Maquoketa garnered 18 offensive rebounds and turned the ball over just eight times.
Despite the outcome, the senior class accumulated a four-year record of 84-12, all five starters were named 1st Team All-Conference, Grace Holsteen and Todd Borrison swept Player and Coach of the Year honors for the conference. For coach Borrison, this senior class stands among the legends of the Mediapolis’ girls’ basketball program,
“It was, and they all just bought into whatever role we kinda try to designate for them, and we’re really proud of them. And we just, yeah, they’re just great kids. And they understand the game, and they knew that they were just gonna do whatever they had to do. Basically, they didn’t care who got the credit, and they knew that was gonna be our best formula. And so that made it really easy for us to coach.”
The last time Mediapolis qualified for the state tournament, the Bullettes made the trip in consecutive seasons. Only time will tell if the next group will repeat history.