Iowa City West 64, Waukee 50

A second-half shooting blitz sent Iowa City West back to the Class 4A championship game.

The second-ranked Women of Troy shot 74 percent in a second half filled with impressive offensive basketball and beat No. 6 Waukee 64-50 in semifinal action. West will take a 24-1 record into the championship game at 8 o’clock Saturday night.

In their first state tournament appearance a year ago, the Women of Troy lost to Des Moines East in the title game.

Ally Disterhoft, the only junior in West’s otherwise all-senior starting lineup, led her team with 18 points. Mckenzie Piper and Tatum Klein each scored 11 points, while Jessica Shull scored nine on perfect shooting — 3-for-3 from the field and 3-for-3 at the free throw line.

Disterhoft, who is getting attention from Division I universities, added three assists and two steals. Piper led the Women of Troy with seven rebounds.

Britney Boland led Waukee with 16 points and Megan Shryack scored 11.

Waukee used a 17-3 run to build a 19-10 lead early in the second quarter and led 22-15 at halftime. West made only five of 21 shots in the opening half, but found the range quickly in the third quarter, hitting Waukee with a 26-8 run to open a 41-30 lead. The lead was never below nine points after that.

West made 16 of its first 20 shots in the second half and finished the half 17-for-23. The Women of Troy pushed the ball up the court for fastbreak layups, hit mid-range jumpers and knocked down their first 3-point shots of the half after going 0-for-6 from long range in the first two quarters.

It was similar to Waukee’s sizzling shooting in a first-round victory over Mason City. The Warriors made 13 of 14 shots in the second half of that game and won 49-47.

Waukee, in the state tournament for the fifth straight year, finished 20-6.