NORTHWEST REGIONAL (CLASS 4A GIRLS): No. 1 Good Hope rolls past No. 3 Deshler 68-45 to clinch Elite 8 berth
Feb. 19—The pure joy on the faces of Ivey Maddox and Ava McSwain told the story more than any box score ever could.
But the 32-minute performance that preceded those smiles was one those at Tom Drake Coliseum won't soon forget.
McSwain scored a game-high 30 points, Maddox pitched in 16 and 14 rebounds and Good Hope's varsity girls thundered past Deshler 68-45 at the Northwest Regional Tournament on Monday to advance to the Elite Eight.
The triumph was particularly sweet for Maddox and the Class 4A No. 1 Raiders, who watched the No. 3 Tigers (25-7) end their state bids each of the past two seasons at Wallace State.
"These past two years getting beat by them was pretty stinking annoying," said Maddox, a senior. "So winning by 20-plus ... I can't even describe it. I'm running out of breath just talking about it."
McSwain, who joined Good Hope in the offseason, had an easy explanation for her Herculean effort.
"I really wanted to beat Deshler," she said, "so I gave it all I got."
The Raiders (30-2) were certainly the aggressors early, building a 21-9 lead at the end of the first period.
Deshler never got closer than eight points the rest of the way — a departure from the past two meetings between the teams, where Good Hope found itself playing from behind for the nearly the entirety of each contest.
"We've been having bad starts to games lately, and coach (Justin) Aby told us if we come out and start slow, then it's going to be a close game today," Maddox said. "Jumping on them real quick ... we were able to hold all the momentum and the lead that whole time."
The Raiders did just that by playing some exceptional basketball against one of the best programs in 4A history.
Aby's squad shot 45 percent from the field — and held Deshler to 29 percent — scored 19 points off turnovers, totaled 34 points in the paint and held their own on the boards (each team had 33) in the victory.
"I'm just tickled to death with these girls," Aby said. "I feel like we've done an excellent job of playing the competition that we've needed to play to get to this point. There's a reason Deshler has as many state championships as they do. They're well-coached and always have a great team. But the message all year and today was for us to be us. For us to be the team that got us here and control the pace of the game. I thought we did a very good job with that. I felt like we had a little grit and some senior girls who didn't want this to be their last game."
Though the Tigers trailed by the same margin (12) entering the final quarter, Good Hope ended their comeback hopes with a 16-5 period that included a personal 9-0 run by McSwain.
"It's super cool and super fun playing for a team like this with so much talent," she said.
Charly Johnson totaled eight points, while Bailey Tetro (five), Heather Tetro (four), Emma Thompson (three) and Ella Gossett (two) rounded out the scoring.
Good Hope will battle No. 6 Priceville or Hamilton on Wednesday at 4 p.m. for a spot in the Final Four. The Raiders are seeking their first state tournament bid since the 2011-12 season.
