WELLS — In the quarterfinal round of the Division 1A East girls basketball tournament, the Wells girls basketball team was up the task.
On Tuesday, the No. 4 Lady Leopards advanced to the regional semifinal round with a 53-25 victory over No. 5 Lund.
Wells took the lead on a free throw by junior Lillian Harney, but the Lady Mustangs went to the front on a deuce by No. 11 — assisted by No. 5 — no names listed on Lund’s MaxPreps roster.
The Lady Leopards regained the high side on a pair of foul shots from freshman Khloe DelRio, but Lund took a 4-3 advantage on a shot by No. 12 with a dish from No. 23 — who then pushed the gap to 6-3.
DelRio tied the tally with a three from the left corner, but No. 12 knocked down another midrange jumper for an 8-6 lead.
A free by No. 10 gave the Lady Mustangs a 9-6 advantage, but Wells closed the frame on a 7-0 flurry by Harney.
She hit a three from the top of the arc, banked in a shot on a dime from senior Hannah Prescott and added a put-back after an offensive rebound.
After the first quarter, the Lady Leopards led 13-9.
Opening the second, junior Liz Rivera-Casas splashed a triple on a pass from junior Callie Brodsho and Harney cleaned up a loose ball in the lane.
No. 32 scored on the right block for Lund and stopped a 12-0 streak, but Rivera-Casas scored from the left side in transition on an assist from Harney.
No. 11 buried two foul shots for the Lady Mustangs, but Wells tore off a 7-0 clip and took a 27-13 lead.
DelRio finished on a feed from freshman Marli Dahl, freshman Aryanna Rodriguez went 1-for-2 at the line, Harney made a clean trip to the stripe and set up DelRio after an offensive board.
For Lund, No. 12 got a friendly bounce on a long two.
But the Lady Leopards opened a 29-15 advantage at the break after a layup by junior Gizelle Flores on an assist from DelRio.
In the third quarter, Delrio posted a put-back on the offensive glass and Harney hit a shot from the elbow on a dime from Rodriguez.
No. 12 dropped a jumper on an assist from No. 10, but Rodriguez responded with a three on a kick from Harney and scored again with a bank from the right side after a steal.
Dahl drilled a three from in front of the Wells bench, giving the Lady Leopards a 41-17 lead as the game went to the fourth quarter.
Lund gained a free throw by No. 12, but DelRio scored on a dish from Brodsho.
No. 12 reached double digits — scoring more than half of Lund’s 20 points — but Rivera-Casas pushed Wells’ lead to 45-20 on a dime from DelRio.
Harney scored on a pass from Flores, and Rivera-Casas made a strong take down the left edge and capped a 6-0 spurt for a 49-20 advantage.
No. 23 went 1-for-2 at the line for the Lady Mustangs, but Rodriguez followed her own miss and lifted the Lady Leopards to a 30-point lead with two minutes remaining.
For the Lady Mustangs, No. 32 added a foul shot, but freshman Keeli Wakley posted a weak-side put-back on the left block for Wells’ largest lead of the ballgame at 53-22.
In the closing seconds, No. 5 buried a bomb — launching a buzzer-beating three from the backcourt that found nothing but net.
But No. 4 Wells advanced to the regional semifinal with a 53-25 victory and eliminated No. 5 Lund from the 1A East regional tourney.
Harney scored a game-high 16 points, and DelRio followed with 13 for the Lady Leopards.
For Lund, No. 12 finished with a team-high 11 points — the only Lady Mustang in double digits.
For Wells, Rivera-Casas neared double figures with nine points and Rodriguez added eight.
Dahl hit a three, and Wells’ offense was capped with two points apiece for Flores and Wakley.
For the Lady Mustangs, No. 11 posted four points — No. 23, No. 32 and No. 5 closed with three apiece.
Lund’s scoring was capped with a free throw for No. 10.
Up Next
No. 4 Wells (13-12 overall, 7-6 against league opponents) will face No. 1 Eureka (19-2 overall, 11-1 in league) in the 1A East semifinal with a trip to state on the line at 6:20 p.m. Friday, in Spring Creek.
During the regular season, the Lady Vandals beat the Lady Leopards twice by wide margins of 49-20 and 57-27.