CLASS 2-A:
Western Christian 50, Iowa City Regina 45
Freshman Ashtyn Veerbeek helped Western Christian stay in the hunt for a fourth consecutive state championship, coming off the bench to score 17 points and grab 10 rebounds as the second-ranked Wolfpack held off No. 12 Iowa City Regina 50-45. Payton Harmsen added 12 points for Western Christian (22-3) and Jamie Gesink scored 11 and pulled down nine rebounds. Western Christian will play No. 3 North Linn in the semifinals at 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
CLASS 3-A:
Mediapolis 63, Mount Vernon 53
Top-ranked Mediapolis had just a little too much firepower and size for Mount Vernon. As a result, the Bullettes are still unbeaten and still in the running for their first state championship since the six-player days in 1973. Andrea Larson scored 20 points, making 8 of 13 shots, and Mediapolis used a big second-half run to sideline unranked Mount Vernon 63-53. Darby Massner added 15 points for the Bullettes (25-0), Ashley Hedges scored 11 and freshman Mackenzie Rogers had nine. Heidi Hillyard helped out with 11 rebounds and six points.
Nevada 54, Red Oak 38
Nevada celebrated a victory that was a long time coming. The seventh-ranked Cubs shot 55.6 percent behind young stars Lexy Koudelka and Clair Ausman and beat No. 9 Red Oak 54-38. This is Nevada’s first trip to state since 1968 and its first state tournament victory in 91 years. The last was a 26-17 win over Crawfordsville in the first round of the 1924 tournament, before it fell under the auspices of the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union. Koudelka, a 6-foot-1 freshman, hit 8 of 10 shots and scored 20 points. Ausman, a sophomore, made her first five 3-point shots and scored 17 points. She finished 5-for-6 from long range and 6-for-8 overall. Junior Kati Cassabaum added eight points, 13 rebounds, two steals and two assists for the Cubs (22-3), who have no seniors. Grace Blomstedt led Red Oak (20-5) with 14 points. Kate Walker, who’ll continue her career at Bucknell, scored 11. Nevada never trailed after running off 10 straight points to open a 13-4 lead. The Cubs led 28-19 at halftime, then broke the game open with a 13-3 run in the third quarter to go up 43-24. Four different players scored during that run, with Koudelka getting six points — all in the lane. Next up for Nevada is a semifinal date against top-ranked Mediapolis at 3:15 p.m. Thursday.
Crestwood 58, Spirit Lake 46
Crestwood is headed back to the Class 3A semifinals for the second year in a row. The fifth-ranked Cadets shot 60 percent from 3-point range and led almost all the way in beating No. 11 Spirit Lake 58-46 in a first-round game. Madison Sickles made 6 of her 9 shots and scored 17 points to lead the Cadets (22-2), who got their first-ever state tournament victory a year ago. Freshman Shannon Pisney added 12 points and seven rebounds and Karlee Grabau had 11. Pisney and Kate Grover, who finished with eight points, each hit a pair of 3-pointers.
Pocahontas Area 63, Clear Lake 59
The shots weren’t falling, the third quarter was a near disaster and the opponent kept making baskets. Somehow, Pocahontas Area survived it all to play another day. The second-ranked Indians hit four 3-pointers during a 2 1/2-minute span in the fourth quarter and rallied to beat No. 13 Clear Lake 63-59 to complete first-round play in the Class 3A tournament. Pocahontas (24-1) managed only four points in the third quarter and trailed 52-44 before making its late run to gain a semifinal matchup with fifth-ranked Crestwood at 5 p.m. Thursday. The Indians did it with cluch play from a pair of sophomores, Faith Meyer and Elle Ruffridge. Meyer led all scorers with 22 points and knocked down 5 of 7 3-point attempts. She finished 8-for-11 from the field overall. Ruffridge was held below her state-leading 27-point scoring average but came through when her team needed her and wound up with 21 points, seven assists and three steals.
CLASS 4-A:
Carlisle 56, Waverly-Shell Rock 50
Carlisle keeps giving its large gathering of loyal fans a reason to cheer. The fourth-ranked Wildcats are in the Class 4A semifinals for the second straight year after charging from behind in the fourth quarter to hand No. 5 Waverly-Shell Rock its first loss of the season, 56-50. Their success the past two years under coach Bryan White has come after the Wildcats struggled through a 1-22 season in 2012-13. In this latest victory, Payton Keeney broke a 45-45 tie with a free throw and Agatha Baier followed with a 3-pointer from deep in the left corner for a 49-45 lead with 3:20 remaining. The Wildcats (22-2) stayed on top the rest of the way, helped by Baier’s slick high-low pass to Keeney for a layup that put Carlisle up 51-46. Keeney finished 6-for-9 from the field and led the Wildcats with 20 points. Kaleigh Haus added 15 points, while Baeier had 10 points and six assists.
Harlan 54, Cedar Rapids Xavier 31
Make it 50 straight for Harlan, though it took a while for the Cyclones to get going in this one. Taylor Frederick dominated inside with 27 points and 15 rebounds and top-ranked Harlan overcame a miserable start to beat No. 8 Cedar Rapids Xavier 54-31 in Class 4A play. The victory keeps the Cyclones (24-0) in the running for a third consecutive appearance in the title game and they did it without a big game from season scoring leader Jess Schaben. Schaben struggled shooting the ball all night and scored just four points. But the Iowa State volleyball recruit grabbed 14 rebounds, blocked two shots and was an intimidating presence on several others as Harlan held the Saints (17-7) to 10 field goals. Jordyn Moser added 10 points and Taylor Wagner seven for the Cyclones, who haven’t lost since falling to Xavier in the 2013 state championship game. Xavier bothered Harlan with its aggressive defense early and the Cyclones could manage only seven first-half baskets and a 21-14 lead at the break. But Wagner started the second half with a 3 and Frederick then took over, scoring 12 of her team’s next 15 points as Harlan stretched its lead to 39-19. Frederick posted up strong to get four baskets inside and sank four free throws during the big run and Xavier never recovered. Lizzy Bailey, McKenna Andersen and Morgan Breitbach each scored seven points for Xavier, which capped another successful season with an 11th state tournament trip. The Saints have won four titles, including three in a stretch from 2003 through 2007. The semifinals will match Harlan against No. 4 Carlisle, the team the Cyclones beat 45-42 in last year’s semis. They’ll meet at 6:45 p.m. Thursday.
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