A sixth-ranked (Iowa Prep Illustrated) Cherokee girls basketball team could smell it, they took taste it on Wednesday. The Braves were 32 minutes away from advancing to the Class 3A Region 5 final. Achieved, Carroll Kuemper lost to Cherokee 68-45.
Takeaway
The Cherokee girls did without leading scorer Addy Wolfswinkel at her best. The sophomore who averages 20-plus points per game didn’t get her first points until 2:29 left in the first quarter. She made 1-of-2 free throws. It wasn’t until the 5:53 mark of the second quarter, Addy Wolfswinkel made her first field goal.
The win gave the Cherokee lasses their second win over Kuemper in three meetings since February 2012. The two wins have come in back-to-back meetings.
Key Moments
Following a 2-2 tied with 7:09 left in the first quarter, Cherokee outscored Kuemper 16-7 the remainder of the opening quarter.
Addy Wolfswinkel sent the teams to the lockeroom at halftime with momentum on their side. Her layup at the buzzer gave Cherokee a 44-26 lead, as the Braves outscored Kuemper 26-17 in the second quarter.
Kuemper began the third quarter with a 7-0 run to cut Cherokee’s lead to 44-33. Cherokee’s first points of the third quarter came when Deidra Doeden knocked down the shot with 4:05 showing on the scoreboard.
Both teams finished with 10 fourth quarter points.
Hear From Coach Slaughter
“We didn’t shoot the ball really well tonight and won by 23 points. We got a bit lackadaisical at times and let Kuemper back in it during the third quarter. Other than that I feel pretty good about the win.”
Brandon Slaughter, Cherokee girls head basketball coach
Key Statistics/Notables
In a span of two minutes Laney Wolfswinkel picked up her third (1:39 3Q), fourth (59.4 3Q) and fifth foul (7:47 4Q). Prior to her exit from the game the senior finished with a game-best 20 (15 in first half) points and nine rebounds.Laney Wolfswinkel has normally normally 8 to 10 points per contest.
Doeden finished with a double-double. She had 19 points and 18 rebounds, as well as two blocked shots. Addy Wolfswinkel added 11 points in the win.
In the first quarter Cherokee was 5-of-11 in free throws. The remainder of the game the Braves improved at the charity stripe. They were 13-of-17 over the final three quarters of play.
Kuemper’s leaders in scoring were Elsa Tiefenthaler with 13, and Karsyn Overmohle with 11. Tiefenthaler matched her season average. What the Braves managed was to prevent junior guard Kaylie Simons from getting comfortable in the game. Simons averages 11 points amd finished with nine points.
Neither team reserves off the bench factored offensively. Kuemper’s bench outscored Cherokee’s 5-0.
Cherokee dominated Kuemper on the glass, finishing plus +21 (45-21). The Braves defensively forced Kuemper into 21 turnovers.
Hear From Addy Wolfswinkel
“Laney had quite a game. We definitely were slow in the first couple of minutes, than we started to turn things around, getting up by 20. It was nice to give us a little bit of breathing room.”
Addy Wolfswinkel, Cherokee sophomore guard
Up Next
Her comes Atlantic on Saturday. Iowa Prep Illustrated’s 13th-ranked team Atlantic defeated Harlan to advance. Atlantic will come into the Class 3A Region 5 final against Cherokee with a 18-6 record. Cherokee (20-3) hasn’t lost a game played against Atlantic in the Bound Era since 2021. The two teams had previously met in the postseason a season ago (Feb. 14) and 2021 (Feb. 17). A Cherokee win it the 3A final will qualify the Braves for their eighth state tournament appearance since 1977.
Carroll Kuemper 9 – 17 (26) – 9 (35) – 10 = 45
Cherokee 18 – 26 (44) – 14 (58) – 10 = 68
Carroll Kuemper Record:Â 11-12;Â Cherokee Record: 20-3.
CHEROKEE
Addy Wolkfswinkel 11, McKenna Benson 9, Deidra Doeden 19, Laney Wolfswinkel 20, Kadyn Volkert 9, Jillian Paulsrud 0, Nora Hare 0, Danika Ducommun 0, Ava Kremer 20, Anna Nixon 0. Totals: 22-61 18-28 68.
3-Point Field Goals (6-26) — Benson 3, L. Wolfswinkel 2, Volkert 1. Rebounds Leader (45) — Doeden 18, L. Wolfswinkel 9. Assists Leader (10) — Volkert 7, Benson 2. Steals Leader (11) — A. Wolfswinkel 4, Volkert 4, . Blocks Leader (2) — Doeden 2. Total Fouls (16). Fouled Out — Kuemper: Addy Arthofer, Cherokee: L. Wolfswinkel.
