(From IGHSAU) Konnor Sudmann’s best came just when her team needed it the most. Sudmann scored a career-high 34 points, including a huge 3-pointer in the fourth quarter, to help Treynor withstand a furious Central Decatur rally and beat the Cardinals 58-53 to reach the Class 2A championship game for the second time in three years.

Central Decatur, which had been unbeaten, stormed back from a 19-point deficit to trail 47-45 after Alli Masters converted a three-point play off a runner in the lane with 5:47 left. The momentum had swung completely to Central Decatur’s side, but Sudmann stemmed it a few seconds later when she got the ball on the left wing and drained her clutch 3.The 5-foot-9 senior followed that shot with a layup after Treynor broke the press, then continued to make plays down the stretch, sinking four straight free throws and coming up with a key steal by intercepting a long cross court pass when Treynor was clinging to a 55-51 lead.

Now it’s on to the title game for Treynor, which will meet top-ranked and unbeaten Grundy Center at 5 p.m. Saturday. Treynor is looking for a better finish this time after losing to Western Christian 51-48 in the 2017 championship game. Treynor won the Class 1A state championship back in 1994 and was second in 1A in 2006.

Central Decatur rallied from a 14-point deficit to beat Aplington-Parkersburg in the quarterfinals and was on the verge of an even more impressive comeback in this one.A 20-2 run spanning halftime had propelled Treynor into a 38-19 lead and left Central Decatur looking for a spark that would get them back into the game. The Cardinals found it in Masters, who scored 22 of her 24 points in the second half. She started the comeback with a 3-pointer and converted four traditional three-point plays as the Treynor lead kept shrinking. But Central Decatur could not get the combination of a stop and a basket it needed to take the lead and lost for the first time in 24 games.Emma Atwood added 19 points and eight rebounds for Central Decatur, which has compiled a sparkling 95-5 record over the last four years. All but one of those losses have come at the state tournament.

Kayla Chapman added nine points for Treynor, which is now 25-1.