Freshman point guard Nicole McDermott plays with the poise of a senior and she's a big reason Cascade is headed for the semifinals of the 2017 Iowa High School Girls State Basketball Tournament.

McDermott scored 18 points and hit two key free throws in the final seconds to help the eighth-ranked Cougars beat No. 3 Central Decatur 59-56 to complete the first round in Class 2A.

Cascade handed Central Decatur its first loss of the season and draws another unbeaten in the next round. The Cougars will take on second-ranked Treynor at 3:15 p.m. Thursday.

McDermott, who came in averaging 10.9 points, shot 6-for-9 from the field, grabbed five rebounds and made six steals. Abbie Ruggeberg added 13 points for the Cougars and Jordan Simon scored 10.

Raegan Boothe's 16 points and nine rebounds led Central Decatur, which relied on its 3-point shooting to build a nine-point lead early in the second half. Lily Simon added 15 points and Alli Masters scored 13. Boothe made four 3-pointers, including a couple from beyond the NBA arc, and Simon hit three from long range.

After jumping to an early 7-0 lead, Cascade found itself trailing 41-33 midway through the third quarter. But the Cougars weren't behind much longer.

They rattled off the next 11 points to take a 44-41 lead, then held on despite some shaky free throw shooting down the stretch.

Boothe made two of three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point shot to tie the score at 56-all with 22.4 seconds remaining. Lisa Tucker put Cascade back ahead with a free throw and, after a turnover, McDermott dropped in two from the line for the final three-point lead.

Ruggeberg then blocked a Central Decatur 3-point shot just before the final buzzer.

Cascade, in the tournament for the fourth time in five years, moves on with a 23-2 record. Central Decatur finishes 24-1.

Story Courtesy of IGHSAU



Cascade vs Central Decatur
02/28/17 10:00 AM at Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, IA

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VISITORS: Cascade 23-2
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
01 McDermott, Nicole... *  6-9    1-3    5-10   2  3  5   1  18  1  0  0  6  28
03 Hunt, Anna.......... *  0-3    0-3    0-0    2  0  2   3   0  1  1  0  0  17
23 Tucker, Lisa........ *  2-5    0-0    3-8    0  2  2   3   7  1  1  0  0  22
33 Takes, Riley........ *  1-2    0-0    1-4    1  6  7   2   3  0  2  0  0  20
45 Ruggeberg, Abbie.... *  5-10   0-2    3-5    1  4  5   4  13  1  2  2  1  28
05 Ryan, Zoe...........    0-0    0-0    0-0    2  0  2   0   0  1  0  0  0   3
11 Ryan, Anne..........    2-7    0-4    0-0    0  0  0   0   4  1  0  0  2  16
13 Trumm, Rachel.......    1-1    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   2  0  0  0  0   2
35 Strang, Rose........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   1   0  0  2  0  0   4
41 Simon, Jordan.......    2-2    2-2    4-4    0  2  2   1  10  1  1  2  0  17
55 Dolphin, Skylar.....    1-1    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   2  0  1  0  1   3
   TEAM................                            2  2
   Totals..............   20-40   3-14  16-31   8 21 29  15  59  7 10  4 10 160

TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  9-22 40.9%   2nd Half: 11-18 61.1%   Game: 50.0%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  1-9  11.1%   2nd Half:  2-5  40.0%   Game: 21.4%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  6-13 46.2%   2nd Half: 10-18 55.6%   Game: 51.6%   5,1


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HOME TEAM: Central Decatur 24-1
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
10 Masters, Alli....... *  4-11   0-1    5-5    4  3  7   3  13  1  4  0  1  26
14 Boothe, Raegan...... *  5-13   4-11   2-3    1  8  9   4  16  3  3  1  2  29
20 Simon, Lily......... *  5-11   3-6    2-4    1  0  1   5  15  1  5  0  2  32
34 Hullinger, Jentri... *  1-4    1-3    0-0    1  2  3   3   3  3  1  1  0  25
44 Atwood, Emma........ *  3-6    0-1    3-4    1  3  4   4   9  3  2  0  1  23
12 Ridgway, Abbie......    0-1    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
22 Boswell, Alliey.....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   5
50 Kauzlarich, Erica...    0-0    0-0    0-0    1  2  3   1   0  0  0  0  1  19
   TEAM................                            4  4
   Totals..............   18-46   8-22  12-16   9 22 31  20  56 11 15  2  7 160

TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  9-21 42.9%   2nd Half:  9-25 36.0%   Game: 39.1%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  6-11 54.5%   2nd Half:  2-11 18.2%   Game: 36.4%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  6-6  100 %   2nd Half:  6-10 60.0%   Game: 75.0%    1


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Officials: Jeff Bermel, Steve Klein, Ross Hemsley
Technical fouls: Cascade-None. Central Decatur-None.
Attendance:
Score by Periods                1st  2nd  3rd  4th   Total
Cascade.......................   17    8   19   15  -   59
Central Decatur...............   12   18   11   15  -   56
Fouled Out: C. Decatur: #20 L. Simon (:5.8-4th)

Points in the paint-CASCADE 28,CDECATUR 18. Points off turnovers-CASCADE 22,CDECATUR 12.
2nd chance points-CASCADE 9,CDECATUR 3. Fast break points-CASCADE 6,CDECATUR 4.
Bench points-CASCADE 18,CDECATUR 0. Score tied-2 times. Lead changed-2 times.
Last FG-CASCADE 4th-04:24, CDECATUR 4th-02:17.
Largest lead-CASCADE by 8 4th-07:23, CDECATUR by 9 3rd-06:05.
CASCADE led for 20:01. CDECATUR led for 10:57. Game was tied for 01:02.

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