Western Christian 47, Estherville-Lincoln Central 45

Western Christian won its rubber match with Estherville-Lincoln Central and is now one victory from playing for the Class 2A state championship.

Kim Kroeze scored on a putback with 4.9 seconds left to break the game’s final tie and fifth-ranked Western Christian held on to beat No. 6 Estherville-Lincoln Central 47-45 to advance to Thursday’s semifinals.

The Wolfpack rallied from 10 points down early in the fourth quarter to beat Estherville-Lincoln Central for the second time in three ties. It was Western Christian’s 10th straight victory and 13th in the last 14 games, including a 19-point win over Estherville-Lincoln Central in the regular season finale.

Alissa Pollema and Jamie Gesink led Western Christian with 12 points each and Brooke Wolterstorff added nine. Pollema scored six straight Western Christian points down the stretch to key the Wolfpack’s final charge.

OA-BCIG 48, West Marshall 41

Jessie Pauley helped save her top-ranked team from what would have been a stunning upset.

Pauley scored 17 of her 28 points in the second half and OA-BCIG rallied to beat unranked West Marshall 48-41 in a first-round Class 2A game.

OA-BCIG raced to an early 10-point lead, fell behind by nine, then clawed back to remain unbeaten. The Falcons will take a 26-0 record into a semifinal game at noon Thursday against fifth-ranked Western Christian.

Pauley, who’ll play at Northern Iowa next season, also grabbed 10 rebounds, blocked three shots and made five of her team’s 13 steals, which helped the Falcons overcome their 27.7 percent shooting. Morgan VanDerSloot added 11 points for OA-BCIG, which is the defending state champion and has won 52 straight games.

McKenzie Shipley led West Marshall with 14 points and nine rebounds. Hailee Halverson added eight points for the Trojans, who finished with a 20-6 record.

Pella Christian 66, West Hancock 63

Pella Christian continued a recent surge with its biggest victory yet.

The 15th-ranked Eagles made one key play after another and upset No. 2 Britt West Hancock 66-63 in a first-round Class 2A game.

Guard Jasmin Schelhaas scored 17 points to lead Pella Christian, including six straight free throws in the fourth quarter to help her team finally gain control in the back-and-forth game. Schelhaas finished 10 of 13 at the line and also grabbed six rebounds.

Cali Vink hit three 3-pointers and added 14 points for Pella Christian, while Christina Nolte had nine points and three steals for the Eagles, who have won 14 of their last 15. They’ll take a 22-3 record into a semifinal game at 1:45 p.m. Thursday.

IKM-Manning 71, Bellevue 55

IKM-Manning’s Tember Schechinger filled the stat sheet in leading her team to the Class 2A semifinals.

Schechinger just missed a triple-double, scoring 23 points, grabbing 15 rebounds and handing out nine assists as the third-ranked Wolverines beat No. 14 Bellevue 71-55. IKM-Manning trailed 31-29 at halftime, but the Wolverines began the second half with an 11-2 run, then turned things over to Schechinger and let her take charge the rest of the way.

A Northwest Missouri State recruit, Schechinger scored 14 of her team’s 18 points as IKM-Manning built an insurmountable lead. She also finished with five steals and two blocks and committed just one turnover.

Kaylee Blake added 12 points and freshman Morgan Muhlbauer scored 10 for IKM-Manning, which will take a 24-2 record against No. 15 Pella Christian in a semifinal game at 1:45 p.m. Thursday.