Iowa City West 55, Iowa City High 52

Iowa City West found its long-range shooting touch just in time to turn back its biggest rival.

The second-ranked Women of Troy hit six 3-pointers during a key five-minute stretch in the second half and held on to beat No. 7 Iowa City High 55-52 in a first-round Class 4A game.

West had defeated City High by margins of eight and 15 points during the regular season, but this one wasn’t decided until West’s Ally Disterhoft blocked City High’s final 3-point shot just before the buzzer.

Tatum Klein led West with 18 points, including three huge 3-pointers to help her team get the lead for good. Mckenzie Piper added 12 points for West, Brianna Sturtz scored 10 and Disterhoft finished with seven points, six rebounds and five blocks.

Waukee 49, Mason City 47

Amy Nestingen’s only basket of the second half was the biggest of the game for Waukee.

Nestingen drove down the right side of the lane and banked in a layup just before the buzzer to give sixth-ranked Waukee a 49-47 victory over No. 3 Mason City in a first-round Class 4A game of big momentum swings.

Waukee fell behind by nine points at halftime, rallied to take a four-point lead, then fell behind by five before making its final charge. The Warriors improved to 20-5 and will play No. 2 Iowa City West in a semifinal game at noon on Friday. Mason City, which beat Waukee 63-53 during the regular season, finished 21-3.

Ankeny 39, Cedar Rapids Xavier 25

Maddie Manning and Ankeny’s defense were too much for Cedar Rapids Xavier.

Manning scored 18 points and fourth-ranked Ankeny held Xavier to one field goal in the second quarter en route to a 39-25 victory in a first-round Class 4A game.

Ankeny took control after the two teams played to an 8-8 tie in the first quarter. The Hawkettes outscored Xavier 11-3 in the second quarter to open a 19-11 lead, then turned back the Saints’ only threat in the second half.

Xavier twice cut the lead to six, the second time at 23-17 on Emily Walvoord’s jump shot midway through the third quarter. But Manning converted a three-point play on a leaning scoop shot and Ankeny went on to score 12 straight points to regain control.

Manning, who has signed with Oklahoma, finished strong, scoring seven of her team’s final nine points.

Ankeny, in the tournament for the fourth straight year, improved to 22-2 and will play in a semifinal game at 1:45 p.m. Friday. Shayla Starkenberg and Brittany Hedrick each scored seven points for Ankeny, which outscored Xavier 18-1 at the free throw line.

Southeast Polk 56, Ames 37

Top-ranked Southeast Polk is on its way to the Class 4A semifinals and a showdown with the only team that beat the Rams this season.

Southeast Polk held unranked Ames to just two field goals in the first half and cruised to a 56-37 victory to complete the opening round of the 2012 tournament. It was the second victory over Ames this season for the Rams, who’ll take a 24-1 record against fourth-ranked Ankeny in a semifinal game at 1:45 p.m. Friday.

Ankeny beat Southeast Polk 33-29 at midseason, a loss the Rams avenged with a 55-31 victory in the regular-season finale.

Southeast Polk had good balance against Ames, getting 12 points from Whitney VanWyk, 11 from Megan Bianchi and 10 from Caitlin Ingle. Ingle also notched five assists with some alert passing, while VanWyk grabbed six rebounds and knocked down a couple of 3-pointers.