Iowa laid an egg on Senior Day and fumbled away the two seed in the Big Ten Tournament. Nebraska shot 58 percent and had 14 three pointers to stun the Hawkeyes 81-77. Iowa finished 11-9 in the Big Ten.

That’s Iowa coach Fran McCaffery. Patrick McCaffery led the Hawkeyes with 23 points.

The Hawkeyes wilted at crunch time and went the final six minutes without a field goal.

The loss was a costly one. The Hawkeyes fall to the five seed in this week’s Big Ten Tournament in Chicago and open Thursday afternoon against the winner of the game between Ohio State and Wisconsin.

For the second time in three years Drake is going dancing. The Bulldogs took control with an early 12-0 run and crushed regular season champion Bradley 77-51 in the championship of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in St. Louis. Drake raced out to a 20 point halftime lead to win its first Valley tournament title since 2008.

That’s Drake coach Darian DeVries. After losing in the title game the past two years DeVries felt his team was on a mission.

The Bulldogs improve to 27-7 and earn their sixth NCAA Tournament bid in program history.

Tucker DeVries led Drake with 22 points. Garrett Sturtz had 12 as the Bulldogs avenged a loss to Bradley a week ago in a game that decided the regular season title.

Senior guard Roman Penn had nine points and six rebounds and says the seniors were motivated to win the tournament.

Class 4A Championship
2:30 p.m. –  Dallas Center-Grimes 57,  North Polk 50 (OT)
Box Score | Game Summary

One trip to the finals was all it took for Dallas Center-Grimes to claim a state championship.

The Mustangs combined some timely 3-point shooting with key defensive stops to beat nearby rival North Polk 57-50 in overtime to win the Class 4A title.

Emma Miner scored 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Dallas Center-Grimes, which dominated the overtime after North Polk missed a shot that could have won it regulation.

The Mustangs had great balance behind Miner, who’ll continue her basketball career at St. Thomas University. Vanessa Bickford, Aubrey Johansen and Finley Fitzgerald each scored eight points and Josie Lampe added seven.

Perimeter shooting made the difference in the closely contested game. Dallas Center-Grimes went 9-for-20 from 3-point range, Miner leading that effort by going 4-for-8. North Polk outrebounded the Mustangs 34-29 and came up with eight steals but shot just 3-for-12 from distance and found itself needing to make tough shots around the basket.

Izzy McCool led the Comets with 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting, Liza Schaffer scored 11, MaKayla Boatman 10 and Abby Tuttle eight. Becca Aagard, a 6-foot-2 sophomore, gave the Comets a solid presence in the post with six points, 11 rebounds, five blocks and  three steals. But it wasn’t quite enough and North Polk finished as the state runner-up for the third time.

Dallas Center-Grimes, which had lost in the semifinals each of the past two seasons, finished with 12 straight wins and a 23-3 record. North Polk, which lost to the Mustangs in its season opener, also wound up 23-3.

Class 4A All-Tournament Team
Emma Miner, Dallas Center-Grimes
Liza Schaffer, North Polk
Alliyah Thompson, Ballard
Brooklyn Stanley, Bishop Heelan
MaKayla Boatman, North Polk
Vanessa Bickford, Dallas Center-Grimes (Captain)

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Emma Miner, Dallas Center-Grimes

Class 2A State Championship
4:45 p.m. – Dike-New Hartford 64 Central Lyon 49
Box Score | Game Summary

Dike-New Hartford and Central Lyon met in the Class 2A state championship game for the second year in a row and Dike-New Hartford prevailed again, winning 64-49 to claim its third consecutive title.

The Wolverines did it behind yet another big game from the Petersen twins, Payton and Jadyn, solid all-around play from their teammates and high-level defense.

The Petersens scored 19 points each, with Payton adding 11 rebounds and Jaydn pulling down nine. Payton, the all-tournament captain for the third straight year, made 9-of-12 shots on a variety of post-ups and putbacks. Jadyn, who also made the all-tournament team, got inside for layups by driving the ball into the lane or cutting to the basket and getting passes from her teammates. She went 7-for-9 from the field.

Maryn Bixby added 13 points, two assists and four steals for the Wolverines, Ellary Knock had eight points, five rebounds and four assists and Camille Landphair contributed five points – all on free throws. While the Wolverines don’t rely extensively on perimeter shooting, Bixby and Knock were sharp from distance, combining to go 5-for-10.

Desta Hoogendoorn led Central Lyon with 16 points and seven rebounds and Dionne Jansma added 12. The Wolverines were able to contain the Lions’ long-range shooting specialist, Addison Klosterbuer, holding her to nine points on 3-for-11 shooting.

Klosterbuer did made two 3-pointers to give her 14 for the tournament, breaking the 2A record of 13 she set last year and just one short of the all-tournament record held by Elle Ruffridge of Pocahontas.

Dike-New Hartford lost only to Class 1A finalist Algona Bishop Garrigan this season and finished 26-1. The Wolverines have won nine straight tournament games, which matches the fourth-longest streak of all time, and own an impressive 10-3 state tourney record in six appearances. Central Lyon, the Class 1A champion in 2013, lost for the first time in 25 games.

Class 2A All-Tournament
Jadyn Petersen, Dike-New Hartford
Desta Hoogendoorn, Central Lyon
Akaysa Duitscher, Pocahontas Area
Madison Brouwer, Sibley-Ocheyedan
Addison Klosterbuer, Central Lyon
Payton Petersen, Dike-New Hartford (Captain)

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Jadyn Petersen, Dike-New Hartford

Class 1A Championship
7:00 p.m. –  Algona Bishop Garrigan 68, Newell-Fonda 57
Box Score | Game Summary

Audi Crooks put the finishing touches on a spectacular high school career with a two records and another championship.

Crooks scored a state tournament record 49 points and led Algona Bishop Garrigan to its second straight Class 1A title with a 68-57 victory over Newell-Fonda, which had denied the Golden Bears championships by beating them in the 2020 and 2021 state finals.

Crooks, a 6-foot-3 senior who’ll play at Iowa State next season, made 21 of 27 shots – most after the ball was lobbed to her in the low post – grabbed 16 rebounds, blocked three shots and altered several others. The old record was 48 points by Elle Ruffridge of Pocahontas against Center Point-Urbana in 2017.

The Bishop Garrigan star also shattered the full tournament record, racking up 117 points in her three games. The old mark was 95 by Cedar Rapids Jefferson’s Karen Schulte in 1993.

Crooks finished her career with 2,734 points and 1,339 rebounds, both figures ranking third on the state’s all-time list. To no one’s surprise, she was voted captain of the all-tournament team. She made all-tournament team in each of the four years she played at state.

Molly Joyce added 11 points and 10 assists for the Golden Bears, who won their final 26 games to finish 26-1. Abbie Capesius did not score but pulled down 12 rebounds and handed out eight assists and Emmi Bartolo scored five points in 20 minutes off the bench.

Mia Walker’s 15 points led Newell-Fonda, which played in the championship game for the 11^th time and has won four titles. Mary Walker added 11 points and Kierra Jungers had seven points and six rebounds. The Mustangs finish another successful season with a 24-3 record.

Newell-Fonda went into the game hoping its frenetic pressing defense could force enough turnovers to keep Bishop Garrigan from getting the ball down the floor and into Crooks’ hands. The Mustangs succeeded for a while and led 13-8 after the first quarter.

But once the Bishop Garrigan ball handlers broke the press, all they had to do was lob the ball into Crooks and there was little the Mustangs could do to stop it. Still, they managed to keep hanging around and eventually forced 21 turnovers.

Newell-Fonda trailed just 62-54 with 4 minutes left, plenty of time cut further into the lead. But Crooks quickly ended those hopes. She made a free throw, scored inside and converted a three-point play for her final points, stretching the lead to 68-54 and finishing off the Mustangs.

Class 1A All-Tournament
Kierra Jungers, Newell-Fonda
Molly Joyce, Bishop Garrigan
Whitney Jensen – Remsen St. Mary’s
Kamryn Kurt, North Linn
Mary Walker, Newell-Fonda
Audi Crooks, Bishop Garrigan (captain)

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Audi Crooks, Bishop Garrigan

The UNI women’s basketball team outscored Missouri State 21-10 in the third quarter and scorched the Bears 86-67 on Saturday in Cedar Falls. It was a happy senior day for the Panthers, who earned a season split with Missouri State.

Emerson Green led UNI with 24 points and 9 rebounds. Grace Boffeli added 12 points and Maya McDermott dropped in 11.

The Panthers improved to 21-8 on the season and 16-4 in MVC play. The Panthers earned the 3-seed for the Hoops in the Heartland MVC Tournament next week in Moline, Ill. The Panthers will play the winner of Illinois-Chicago and Valparaiso next Friday at 8:30 p.m.

The Drake women’s basketball team rolled to a 91-68 rout of Southern Illinois at the Knapp Center on Saturday in the regular season finale.  The Bulldogs outscored the Salukis 23-16 in the second quarter and led by 11 at half before added on to the lead in the third.

Drake scored 44 points in the paint and had a whopping 30 points off turnovers. Maggie Bair poured in 25 points and Anna Miller had a big double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds.

Drake improved to 19-9 overall and 14-6 in the Valley. The Bulldogs will be the four-seed next week at the Hoops in the Heartland MVC Women’s Basketball Tournament. They will have an opening round bye and face the winner of Missouri State/Bradley on Friday at 2:30 p.m. in Moline, Illinois.

The Iowa Hawkeye women’s basketball team will play in the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament Championship game on Sunday after grabbing an 89-84 win over Maryland in the semis on Saturday. The Hawkeyes built an early 8-point lead by the end of the first quarter and were able to hold the lead the rest of the way.

The Hawkeyes had five players in double-figures and three with 20+ point games. Caitlin Clark had 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 9 assists. McKenna Warnock and Gabbie Marshall each added 21 points in the win.

Iowa improved to 26-6 on the season. The Hawkeyes will face Ohio State in the Championship game on Sunday at 4:00 p.m. The Buckeyes advanced to that game with a 79-75 win over top-seeded Indiana on Saturday.

We’ll have that championship game on KJAN with pregame at 3:45 p.m.

The Iowa State women’s basketball team had a happy senior day with a 76-52 drubbing of Texas Tech on Saturday at Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones broke loose with a 27-11 advantage in the second quarter and then outscored the Red Raiders by ten in the third.

Ashley Joens put up a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Emily Ryan had a double-double of her own with 12 points and 11 boards. Three other Cyclones finished with 9 points in the game.

Iowa State improved to 20-8 on the season and will now prep for the Big 12 Tournament next week in Kansas City. The Cyclones drew the 3-seed and will face 6th-seeded Baylor next Friday at 7:30 p.m. in their opening tourney game.

The Drake Bulldogs will play for the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title on Sunday after a 65-52 win over Southern Illinois on Saturday night. The Bulldogs blew the game open early with a 39-23 lead by halftime and cruised to the win.

Roman Penn led four Bulldogs in double-figures with 16 points and 5 assists. Garrett Sturtz and Tucker DeVries each had 12, and Darnell Brodie ripped down a double-double with 10 points and 17 rebounds.

The Bulldogs improved to 26-7 on the season. They will get a season rubber-match with Bradley in the championship game on Sunday. The Braves advanced with a 71-70 win over Indiana State in the other semifinal on Saturday.

Southern Illinois got 18 points from Lance Jones in the loss. The Salukis dropped to 23-10 on the year.

That MVC title game between Drake and Bradley will tip-off at 1:00 p.m. at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis.