Before the Dike-New Hartford girls basketball team began its quest for a second-straight state title, Wolverines coach Bruce Dall loaded up his schedule. Dall scheduled teams from all across the state and from different classes to make sure his team was ready for what could be another challenging postseason run.
“Battle-tested,” Dall said.
The Wolverines were indeed tested and ready for a big battle Saturday. Dike-New Hartford repeated as the Class 2A champions with a 59-52 victory over Central Lyon in the finals of the girls state basketball tournament at Wells Fargo Arena Saturday night. The Wolverines finished the season with a 24-2 mark and another state championship.
“We played a lot of state teams that are here,” Dall said. “We got beat a couple of times, but we learned from it."
It showed Saturday when the Wolverines found themselves in another scrap. Saturday's final included seven ties and 14 lead changes. The two teams were even tied 32-32 at halftime. By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, Dike-New Hartford was clinging to a three point lead.
It didn’t last. Central Lyon tied the game on a 3-pointer by Addison Klosterbuer. But Dike-New Hartford reclaimed the lead on a jumper by Ellary Knock with 6 minutes and 21 seconds left. The Wolverines never looked back. They used a 6-0 run later in the quarter to build up a 58-50 lead that was too much for Central Lyon to overcome.
“We were in it the whole time before that,” said Klosterbuer, who finished with a team-high 19 points.
But Dall believes his team’s experience in the state tournament from a season ago and their challenging schedule this season made them ready for Saturday's challenge. Their regular season, which had just two losses, included a showdown with 1A powerhouse Bishop Garrigan.
Dall insisted the goal wasn’t to go undefeated this season. But to get better.
And get ready.
“If you look at our schedule, you’ll see that it’s pretty tough,” Dall said.
Payton Petersen, who scored the first six points of the game, finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds for Dike-New Hartford. Her twin sister Jadyn Petersen finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds. The Wolverines needed all of them.
“I was honestly getting tired but I knew I had to do it for my teammates, do it for my coaches, do it for everyone that’s helped me in the past how many years,” Payton Petersen said.
Central Lyon finished the season with a 24-2 record. So did Dike-New Hartford, which can now set its sights on a three-peat in 2022-23. Four are also in play for the Petersen sisters who are both sophomores.
But Payton Petersen said she's not worrying about that quite yet.
"Definitely not," she said with a smile.
Tommy Birch, the Register's sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He's the 2018 and 2020 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at [email protected] or 515-284-8468. Follow him on Twitter @TommyBirch.