Iowa girls' state basketball: Iowa City West outlasts Waterloo West, advances to Class 5A semifinals

Iowa City West outlasted Waterloo West in a Class 5A state quarterfinal battle of eastern Iowa schools, edging the Wahawks 65-63 Monday at Wells Fargo Arena.

The Women of Troy will play No. 2 Johnston (17-1) at noon Thursday in the semifinals.

Sixth-seeded Iowa City West (14-3) trailed 43-37 entering the fourth but opened the period on an 18-11 scoring run to pull within a point, at 55-54, with 4:25 left. From there, West and the third-seeded Wahawks (19-2) kept trading punches. They were tied at 58-all with just more than two minutes left. 

"We knew it was going to be back-and-forth," Iowa City West head coach B.J. Mayer said. "We wanted to have a chance going into the fourth quarter and we told them, 'You've got your chance. Now we've got to find a way to figure it out.' We got some steals, got some stops, made enough free throws down the stretch and we're happy to be advancing."

Matayia Tellis sunk a free throw to put West up 59-58 with 1:58 left. Waterloo West's Sahara Williams scored a on a layup — 60-59, Wahawks. Then, on the other side of the floor, Iowa City West's Emma Ingersoll-Weng sank a 3 — 62-60, Women of Troy. Then, to effectively win the game, Tellis scored on another layup to put Iowa City West up 64-60 with 14 seconds remaining.

Class 5A quarterfinals coverage

• Waukee rolls past Dowling Catholic
• Ankeny Centennial edges Southeast Polk on buzzer-beater
• Defending champion Johnston gets by Cedar Falls 
• Iowa City West outlasts Waterloo West

That layup was crucial, because things did get a little interesting in those final 14 seconds. Halli Poock was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 13 seconds left and she made all three to make it 64-63, Iowa City West. In all, it outscored Waterloo West 28-20 in the decisive fourth period.

"Even though we're an underdog, there's always a chance for an upset and that's all that matters," Tellis said. "Keep playing until the buzzer."

Meena Tate led the Women of Troy with 21 points. Ingersoll-Weng added 17 and Tellis had 12. Offensive rebounds were key for Iowa City West. It grabbed 10 on the offensive glass, which it turned to 14 points — compared to Waterloo West, which scored just four second-chance points.

Poock led the Wahawks with 22 points. Williams had 18, and Gabby Moore has 13.

Matthew Bain covers sports for the Des Moines Register and USA TODAY Network. Contact him at mbain@dmreg.com and follow him on Twitter @MatthewBain_.