(From IGHSAU)

How often is it said that defense wins championships?

Well, it definitely did for Cascade.

Cascade held Grundy Center without a field goal for 16 minutes in the middle of the game and beat the Spartans 41-37 to win the Class 2A state championship.

But it sure wasn’t easy.

Despite its struggles against Cascade’s tough zone, Grundy Center rallied from a 13-point deficit behind Hailey Wallis and tied the game at 37 when Wallis, the all-tournament captain, sank two free throws with 1:16 left.

Cascade’s Abby Welter broke the tie with a pair of free throws — her only points of the game — and the sixth-ranked Cougars made a last defensive stand.

Grundy Center forced a jump ball after missing a shot with 4 seconds left and inbounded from under its own basket. Cascade’s Anne Ryan, the only senior who started for either team, tipped the long inbounds pass, teammate Nicole McDermott grabbed it and was fouled. McDermott then sank two free throws to finish it off and the Cougars had their first title.

McDermott led Cascade with an impressive stat line — 15 points, nine rebounds, eight steals, four assists and three blocks. Ryan scored 13 points and Jordan Simon added 11. Rachel Trumm did not score for the Cougars but grabbed 12 rebounds.

Wallis did almost everything for eighth-ranked Grundy Center, scoring all 24 of her team’s points from the second quarter on. She finished with 29, including 18 free throws without a miss. She also grabbed eight rebounds and made five steals.

Only two other players scored for Grundy Center, Kylie Willis and Brooke Flater each getting four. Cascade held the Spartans to eight field goals and 16.3 percent shooting.

That’s not a big surprise because defense has been Cascade’s calling card for years. Only two teams scored more than 50 points on the Cougars this season and one of them needed three overtimes to get there. That was a 62-53 win over North Union in the state tournament semifinals.

Cascade, the state runner-up in 2009, finishes 25-3. Grundy Center played for the title on the day former Spartans star Kim Van Deest was inducted into the IGHSAU Hall of Fame. Grundy closes out a fine season with a 24-2 record.

Wallis was joined on the all-tournament team by McDermott, Simon, Grundy Center’s Maddie McMartin, Kayla Chapman of Treynor and Chloe Lofstrom of North Union.

(From Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union)

It’s a three-peat for Springville.

Springville completed an incredibly successful run by its senior class by knocking off unbeaten Newell-Fonda 60-49 to win its third straight Class 1A state championship.

The top-ranked Orioles got big games from their two leaders, Mikayla Nachazel and Rylee Menster, and prevailed against the school that had defeated Springville in the 2015 championship game.

The title, the fourth overall for Springville, came in Christina Zaruba’s first season as the Orioles’ head coach. She had been an assistant the three previous seasons.

Nachazel, a 5-foot-11 senior, led the way with 25 points, 11 rebounds and three steals. She hit nine of 13 shots with a variety of slick moves around the basket and also knocked down a 3-pointer to help secure the victory in the fourth quarter.

Menster added 14 points, four assists and two steals in her final high school game. She and Nachazel will play at Minnesota State next season.

Nichole Kane and Sami Johnson each scored seven for the Orioles, who finish 24-3.

Megan Morenz led fourth-ranked Newell-Fonda with 12 points and Olivia Larsen scored 11. Larsen, who had totaled 51 points in the first two rounds, picked up two early fouls and played only five minutes in the first half.

Springville broke a 13-13 tie with Kane’s 3-pointer early in the second quarter and led the rest of the way. However, Newell-Fonda never let the Orioles get comfortable until the final minute or so, even after Springville built a 16-point lead.

A 7-0 run drew the Mustangs to 56-47, but they could not get any closer and Springville finished off its title with free throws.

Springville, which also won a state championship in 2008, becomes the eighth school to win three consecutive titles. Nachazel, Menster and the other seniors concluded their careers with a four-year record of 97-10.

Newell-Fonda, finishing as the state runner-up for the sixth time, closed out a 26-1 season.

Nachazel was voted captain of the all-tournament team for the third straight year. She was joined by Menster, Morenz, Larsen, Sophia Peppers of Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton and Alli Masters of Central Decatur.