John Bohnenkamp for Pen City Current Sports
FORT MADISON - Dayonna Davis had to be helped back to Fort Madison’s locker room after the Bloodhounds’ 50-41 win over Burlington in a Class 4A Region 1 quarterfinal on Wednesday night.
“Just got hit in the thigh,” said Davis after she left the locker room with not as much of a limp. “I’m OK.”
That’s a good thing for the Bloodhounds (14-7), who advance to Saturday’s semifinal at Keokuk (18-3).
Davis led Fort Madison with 17 points, playing a big role in the Bloodhounds’ 18-0 run in the second quarter that gave them a 27-17 lead.
“It’s just trust in myself,” Davis said. “Having confidence, really.”
“When she plays with confidence, she’s a great basketball player, right up there with the best in the area,” Fort Madison coach Landon Bentley said.
Davis was injured when she crashed to the floor after being fouled on a layup attempt with 6:03 left in the game. She made one of two free throws to give Fort Madison a 45-33 lead, and then came out of the game and left the gym with the assistance of a trainer.
Fort Madison would score just six points the rest of the game after Davis left, but kept Burlington (11-10) from getting much of a run going.
“Losing her at that point in the game, after her taking over, it was a little nerve wracking,” Bentley said. “But I trust in our seniors to rebound, close some things out. We had a little cushion.”
The Bloodhounds didn’t score for the first three minutes of the game as Burlington built an early 5-0 lead behind a 3-pointer and a 15-foot jumper by Mylee Stiefel. Fort Madison battled back to tie the game at 9 before Stiefel’s 3-pointer with 43 seconds left gave the Grayhounds the lead to end the quarter.
“I think we just settled down, just ran our offense better,” Fort Madison sophomore Halle Menke said.
Stiefel’s shot started an 8-0 run that seemed to have Burlington in command before the Bloodhounds took over. Ajia Jenkins and Irelynd Sargent hit back-to-back 3-pointers to ignite the crucial run, then Davis got going. She scored Fort Madison’s final nine points of the quarter and the Bloodhounds led 32-22 at halftime.
“She had a mismatch,” Menke said. “We would pound it inside, and she would score.”
“I thought we strung some things together, pulled ourselves back, started playing Bloodhound basketball,” Bentley said.
Fort Madison got scoring from other parts of its offense. Menke and Sargent had eight points. Taylor Johnson had seven.
“This time of year, you want everybody to score,” Menke said.
Stiefel, who came into the game averaging 20.8 points, finished with 19.
“Mylee and I are good friends,” Menke said. “She’s really shifty and she can shoot. I love to play her.”
Bentley was happy that his team was advancing.
“We found a way to get it done,” he said. “At this point of the season, that’s all that matters.”
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here