State News

Unbeaten North Mahaska wins 1A title

DES MOINES -- Some sharp long-range shooting was just what North Mahaska needed to top off a perfect season.

Hannah Ferguson and Abbie Agan combined to go 7-for-9 from 3-point range in leading the top-ranked Warhawks to the Class 1A state championship with a 40-31 victory over No. 3 Bedford.

It was the first state title for North Mahaska, which finished 28-0. Bedford closed an outstanding season with a 26-2 record.

Ferguson went 4-for-5 from 3-point range and led all scorers with 16 points. She also made four straight free throws at the end to secure the victory.

Agan was 3-for-4 from long range to finish with nine points, while all-tournament captain Mallory Boyle had 11 points, five rebounds and two steals.

Caila Raymond led Bedford with 10 points. Savanna Thornton scored nine and Kendyl Gruttemeyer grabbed 10 rebounds while scoring seven points. Kayla Lindenmeyer had four points, five assists and seven rebounds for the Bulldogs.

Ferguson knocked down three 3-pointers and Agan one to help North Mahaska build a 16-12 lead at halftime. Bedford tied the score twice after that, but North Mahaska never fell behind.

The final tie came when Gruttemeyer's layup made it 26-all midway through the fourth quarter. Agan broke the tie with a 3, Boyle hit a free throw and Agan knocked down another 3 that made it 33-26 and all but finished off the Bulldogs.

Bedford did get to within four points twice, the last time at 35-31 on Raymond's layup with 1:10 left. But Agan sank a free throw and Ferguson made four straight at the line to finish it off.

Ferguson, Raymond and Lindenmeyer joined Boyle on the all-tournament team, along with Katelin Langel of Le Mars Gehlen Catholic and Dana Weerheim of West Sioux.

Boxscore

All-Tournament Team

IC West back in finals -- Class 4A semis

DES MOINES -- 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 Friday at Wells Fargo Arena. West will take a 24-1 record into the championship game against Ankeny (22-3) at 8 p.m. Saturday.

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.

Boxscore

ANKENY 47, SOUTHEAST POLK 45 -- Ankeny won its rubber match with Southeast Polk and it came in the game that counted the most.

Maddie Manning scored five points in the final 73 seconds and teammate Krista Pettepier made a key block as fourth-ranked Ankeny beat No. 1 Southeast Polk to reach the Class 4A state championship game.

The Hawkettes will try for their 11th state title against No. 2 Iowa City West at 8 p.m. Saturday. A victory in that game would give Ankeny Coach Scott DeJong his seventh championship.

Ankeny and Southeast Polk split their two regular-season games, Ankeny winning 33-29 at midseason and Southeast Polk prevailing 55-31 in the regular-season finale. The Hawkettes improved to 22-3, while Southeast Polk finished 24-2.

The game turned out to be as intense and as close as expected.

Ankeny bolted to a 13-2 lead and led 18-8 after one quarter behind Maddie Muhlenbruck's seven points. But Southeast Polk's Caitlin Ingle led the Rams back into the game.

Ingle scored 11 points and had an assist in a 15-0 run that spanned halftime and pulled Southeast Polk into a 28-24 lead. Then the Hawkettes clawed back and when Manning hit a 3-pointer at the start of the fourth quarter, Ankeny went up 36-33 and never trailed again.

Manning, who has signed with Oklahoma, converted a three-point play on a drive to the basket to give Ankeny a 45-41 lead with 1:13 remaining. After Southeast Polk tied it at 45, Manning sank two free throws with 38.5 seconds left for the final points. Pettepier, who has signed with Pittsburgh, blocked Ingle's shot in the lane moments later and the Hawkettes held on.

Manning finished with 13 points, Muhlenbruck scored 12 and Pettepier had 10 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. Ingle led Southeast Polk with 18 points and Annie Panquite scored nine.

Boxscore

Conaway propels MOC-FV to finals - Class 3A semis

DES MOINES -- A huge all-around performance by sophomore Alexis Conaway help put MOC-Floyd Valley in the Class 3A state championship game.

Conaway made plays with her shooting, passing and defense as the second-ranked Lady Dutch remained unbeaten with a 63-53 victory over No. 3 Sioux City Bishop Heelan in an overtime semifinal game Thursday at Wells Fargo Arena.

In just the overtime alone, Conaway scored eight points, assisted on a basket and blocked two shots. She finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds, seven blocks, six assists and five steals.

Lauren McDonald led the Lady Dutch with 18 points and Caitlyn Van Es scored 12. MOC-Floyd Valley hiked its record to 27-0 and will try to win its first state basketball title at 6 p.m. Saturday against Davenport Assumption. (Boxscore)

Madison Yohe led Heelan with 20 points, Alex Fuller scored 12 and Natalie Vondrak added 10 to go with seven rebounds. The Crusaders, state champs in 2008 and 2010, finished 24-2.

Bishop Heelan appeared to be in control when it opened a 44-34 lead early in the fourth quarter. But MOC-Floyd Valley stormed back with 13 straight points to take the lead. McDonald scored five points in the stretch, while Conaway and Van Es each had four.

The Lady Dutch eventually opened a 51-46 lead before Heelan rallied to tie it at 51 on Yohe's layup and send the game into overtime. That's when Conaway, a 5-foot-11 guard, took over.

She drove for a basket, then threw a long pass to Emily McDonald for a layup that put the Lady Dutch ahead to stay at 55-53. After Lauren McDonald scored inside, Conaway did the rest -- stealing the ball and driving the length of the court for a layup, sinking two free throws, then swatting away Bishop Heelan's final shot and taking the ball in for another layup.

DAVENPORT ASSUMPTION 70, BALLARD 29 -- Davenport Assumption will end the season in a familiar setting.

Sharp-shooting guard Danielle Moore scored 25 points and center Hailey Schneden put up a triple double to lead the defending champions back to the Class 3A title game.

Fourth-ranked Assumption jumped to an 8-1 lead and was in control all the way. Moore scored 15 points in the second quarter alone to help the Knights build a 36-17 halftime lead and they continued to pull away in the second half.

Moore went 4-for-6 from 3-point range and shot 8-for-10 overall. Schneden totaled 12 points, 10 rebounds and a 3A record 13 blocks, breaking the old record of eight set in 1995 by Vinton-Shellsburg's Monica Huelman, who'll be inducted into the IGHSAU Hall of Fame Friday night. (Boxscore)

The overall record for a state tournament game is 15 by Muscatine's Jenny Noll in 1991.

It was the second big game at state for Moore, who scored 23 points in the opening round against Glenwood.

Assumption improved to 24-2 and will play second-ranked MOC-Floyd Valley in the title game at 6 p.m. Saturday. Assumption beat Mount Vernon in last year's championship game and won the Class 2A title in 2008.

Unranked Ballard upset No. 1 Benton Community in the first round to reach the semifinals for the seventh straight year. But Moore's shooting and Assumption's depth proved too much for the Bombers, who finished 19-7.

Katie Ahrenholtz led Ballard with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Rachel Sage added eight points for Ballard and Makenzie Ihle scored six.

The streak is dead - Class 2A semis

DES MOINES -- Western Christian beat the defending champion and now has a chance to win a title of its own.

The fifth-ranked Wolfpack put together an 8-0 run late in the game to take the lead and toppled No. 1 OA-BCIG 62-54 in the Class 2A semifinals Thursday at Wells Fargo Arena, ending the Falcons' 52-game winning streak.

With the victory, Western Christian moves into the state championship game at 8 p.m., the first appearance in the basketball finals for a school long known for its outstanding volleyball teams.

Brooke Wolterstorff led the way with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Kim Kroeze added 13 points, including three key 3-point baskets in the second half. Alissa Pollema added eight points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals for Western Christian, which has no seniors in its starting lineup and is now 24-3. (Boxscore)

OA-BCIG lost for the first time since the semifinals of the 2010 state tournament and finished 26-1. Morgan VanDerSloot led the Falcons with 22 points. Jessie Pauley, who'll play at Northern Iowa next season, added 12 points and nine rebounds.

In a back-and-forth game, OA-BCIG built a six-point lead in the first half, fell behind by four in the third quarter, then rallied to pull ahead. Pauley's two free throws gave the Falcons a 50-49 lead with 3:29 left before some clutch shooting at the line put the Wolfpack ahead to stay.

Pollema went 4-for-4 at the line, Kenzie VandeVegte sank two free throws and Kroeze fed Wolterstorff for a layup, sending Western Christian into a 57-50 lead with 1:43 to play.

Four straight free throws by VanDerSloot cut the lead to 57-54 with 1:13 remaining, but the Wolfpack hit five of eight free throws to wrap it up.

Western Christian finished 23 of 35 at the line and outrebounded OA-BCIG 41-33.

PELLA CHRISTIAN 60, IKM-MANNING 49 -- Sparked by Paige Engbers' 50-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer ending the third quarter, the 15th-ranked Eagles pulled away to beat No. 3 IKM-Manning.

They'll take on No. 5 Western Christian in the title game at 8 p.m. Friday, a rematch of a midseason game that Western won 74-72. Pella Christian has won 15 of 16 since then and is now 23-3.

Christina Nolte led three Pella Christian scorers in double figures with 14 points. Tayler Stursma added 12 points and seven rebounds, while Jasmin Schelhaas scored 10. Nolte went 4-for-6 from 3-point range and handed out three assists. (Boxscore)

Tember Schechinger, Kaylee Blake and Kenzie Cast led IKM-Manning with nine points each and Liz Halbur scored eight. Schechinger, who'll play at Northwest Missouri State next season, handed out six assists and blocked three shots. Blake led all rebounders with nine.

The Wolves, in the state tournament for the sixth time in eight years, finished the season 24-3.

Pella Christian rallied after falling behind 15-6 in the first quarter. A 14-0 run in the second quarter that included 3-pointers by Schelhaas and Cali Vink pulled the Eagles into the lead, but IKM-Manning came right back with three straight 3s to go up 26-22.

The Wolves led 26-24 at halftime and the game stayed close until Pella Christian made its move at the end.

Pella Christian was leading 44-42 when Engbers launched a desperation shot from just beyond half-court as the third quarter ended. The ball banked in, giving her team a 47-42 lead and momentum heading into the final quarter.

The Eagles started the fourth quarter with a 6-2 run and were in control the rest of the way, holding the Wolves to one field goal in the period.