Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: Emmi Bartolo of Bishop Garrigan drives and scores on Wednesday at the girls state basketball tournament. For more photos, please visit CU.messengernews.net

DES MOINES — Sometimes the final score of a game isn’t indicative of what took place on the court.

That’s exactly how the Bishop Garrigan girls (23-2 overall) felt after their 64-42 victory over Lansing Kee (17-8) in the opening round of the Class 1A basketball tournament on Wednesday inside the Casey’s Center.

The Golden Bears got out to a 9-0 lead and never looked back, but the Hawks didn’t let Bishop Garrigan ever truly feel comfortable.

“It’s definitely special to get back to the semifinals with this team,” said junior all-stater Graclyn Eastman. “We watched a lot of film on them and knew we couldn’t underestimate them, because obviously, they’re a good team.

“Not hitting shots isn’t really normal for us, but we definitely worked through adversity and I think that is super important for a state title run.”

Bishop Garrigan held a double-digit lead the majority of the contest, but for a squad winning by an average of 38 points before Wednesday, it wasn’t exactly easy for the Golden Bears to pull away.

Bishop Garrigan, which has now played in seven straight state tournaments and will be in the semifinals for the sixth time during that impressive run, struggled from the field. The Golden Bears were just 26-for-67 (38 percent) overall and 7-for-34 (20 percent) from three-point range — well below their season average.

“We didn’t shoot the ball well,” said Garrigan head coach Brandon Schwab. “We can and have to shoot the ball a lot better than that.

“But we picked up for that defensively and were sound on that end.”

The shooting woes hit both teams as the Hawks, which had hit on 31 percent of their three-pointers before Wednesday, were 0-for-16 from deep and just 17 of 58 from the floor.

The Golden Bears recorded 11 steals and recording 11 blocked shots.

Eastman had 24 points and 14 rebounds. She was 11-for-17 from the field. She added seven steals, four blocks and one assist.

“Graclyn has a natural touch around the rim,” Schwab said. “She does a great job of taking what the defense was giving us.

“We weren’t getting her the ball enough, and I told the girls we needed to get her a lot more touches. She has a great ability to finish around the rim.”

Sacha Alesch also reached double figures with 12 points for Garrigan. Alesch had three assists and three rebounds.

“This win means a lot to us because it showed how much we trust in each other and how much versatility we have,” Alesch said. “We knew that because our shots weren’t going in we needed to run our offense a different way and use our post players. Graclyn had an amazing game.

“We stayed patient, kept shooting, and eventually, got some shots to fall.”

Emmi Bartolo contributed 10 points, with three rebounds, four assists and three steals in the victory.

“Getting the first win feels great. We got all of our first-game nerves out and are excited for the opportunity to keep playing,” Bartolo said. “Our shots weren’t falling but we found other ways to score. Graclyn had a huge game for us, and we just kept telling our shooters to stay confident and keep going.

“We relied on our defense and really took away Kee’s strength of hitting threes. We forced turnovers and made it tough on them.”

Madelyn Tigges recorded seven blocks, six rebounds, five assists and four points for Garrigan.

“Madelyn is a tremendous athlete for us,” Schwab said. “She plays well against the zone and finds the gaps. She plays outstanding and comes out of nowhere to block shots.

“She’s a year older and more comfortable. That is her stat line a lot of nights.”

Addison Winters paced the Hawks with 21 points. She also had eight rebounds.

Rylee Mudderman, who averages 17 points a game, was held to six.

“We did a great job on Mudderman, who has went for 44 (in one game during the regular season) and has 83 threes on the year,” Schwab said. “Our defense is one thing that travels with us.”

The top-seeded Golden Bears will now face fifth-seed Dunkerton (23-2) — a 60-39 winner over Lynnville-Sully — on Friday at 1:30 p.m. in a 1A semifinal.

BISHOP GARRIGAN 64, LANSING KEE 42

Lansing Kee — Rylee Mudderman 2-14 2-3 6, Lillian Kolsrud 2-8 0-0 4, Addison Winters 9-22 3-5 21, Elena Schulte 1-6 0-1 2, Morgan Mohn 1-3 2-2 4, Lilah Strong 1-4 1-2 3, Rose Wheeler 0-0 0-0 0, Evelynn Dibert 0-0 0-0 0, Layla Mathis 0-0 0-0 0, Josy Connelly 0-0 0-0 0, Maddie Mauss 0-0 0-0 0, Maddie Martin 0-0 0-0 0, Grace Tornseth 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 17-58 8-13 42.

Bishop Garrigan — Emmi Bartolo 4-14 2-10 10, Graclyn Eastman 11-17 2-2 24, Madelyn Tigges 2-5 0-0 4, Carley Nielson 2-6 0-0 6, Sacha Alesch 4-13 2-2 12, Brooklyn Berte 1-1 0-0 3, Alyssa Haugland 1-4 0-0 2, Addyson Faris 0-2 1-2 1, Rikiya Nielson 0-1 0-0 0, Bree Ludwig 0-2 0-0 0, Ava Roethler 0-1 0-0 0, L Erpelding-Wicman 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 26-67 5-6 64.

Quarter scores: BG led 16-5 29-16, 49-29. Three-point goals: Lansing Kee (0-16) Mudderman 0-8, Kolsrud 0-4, Elena Schulte 0-4. Bishop Garrigan (7-34) Bartolo 2-10, Eastman 0-1 Tigges 0-1, C. Nielsen 2-5, Alesch 2-8, Berte 1-1, Haugland 0-2, Faris 0-2, R. Nielson 0-1, Ludwig 0-2, Roethler 0-1. Total rebounds: Kee 41, Bishop Garrigan 43; Assists: Kee 8, Bishop Garrigan 17. Steals: Kee 7, Bishop Garrigan 11. Blocked shots: Kee 0, Bishop Garrigan 11; Turnovers: Kee 15, Bishop Garrigan 10. Total fouls: Kee 7, Bishop Garrigan 13.