Unity Christian crowned in 2A            

DES MOINES (AP) — Josie Blankespoor scored the go-ahead basket with 2 minutes left and Orange City Unity Christian held on during a hectic final minute to edge Hull Western Christian 42-41 Friday night and win its second straight Class 2A state championship.
Western Christian had a chance in the closing seconds after Ashtyn Veerbeek sank the first of two free throws with 6.5 seconds remaining to make it a one-point game.
She missed the second and Blankespoor rebounded but was tied up. The possession arrow favored Western so the Wolfpack kept the ball.
But Erika Feenstra missed a layup and Western couldn’t get off a second shot before the buzzer, allowing the Knights to escape with the title.
Anna Kiel led Unity Christian (25-1) with 13 points and 15 rebounds and was voted captain of the all-tournament team. Veerbeek led Western Christian (24-3) with 13 points.
The two schools sit only 16 miles apart in the northwest corner of the state and now have combined to win the last five 2A championships. Western Christian won three in a row before Unity claimed last year’s crown. Unity was the 3A runner-up in 2014.
Blankespoor’s shot, a jumper from the left baseline, gave Unity a 41-40 lead and was the fifth lead change of the fourth quarter. Kiel then rebounded a Western Christian miss and the Knights had the ball most of the way from then on, coming up with two big offensive rebounds to keep possession.
Alyssa Fedders rebounded her own miss and teammate Chanda Zomermaand was fouled. Zomermaand missed the front end of a 1-and-1 but Blankespoor slipped in for the rebound and Zomermaand was fouled again. She made one and missed the second, giving Western Christian a chance with 27 seconds left.
But the Wolfpack couldn’t capitalize.
Kiel finished with a tournament record 53 rebounds in her three games, breaking the old mark of 50 set by Exira’s Hallie Christofferson in 2010. Christorfferson will be inducted into the state Hall of Fame on Saturday night.
Deidra Noteboom added 10 points for Unity and Zomermaand scored seven. Feenstra scored seven points for Western Christian.
Unity avenged its only loss with the victory, a 59-48 setback at Western Christian on Jan. 16.