Class 2A Semifinals
Dike-New Hartford 67, Panorama 23
Payton Petersen scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and twin Jadyn added 14 points and 10 rebounds to propel the top-seeded Wolverines past Panorama 67-23 in an impressive display of dominance around the basket. And they had plenty of help. Ellary Knock hit a couple of 3-pointers and scored 13 points, Camille Landphair had seven points and five steals and Sophia Hoffmann contributed four points, five rebounds and seven assists. The Wolverines (24-2) outrebounded fourth-seeded Panorama 43-24, piled up a 42-8 advantage in points in the paint and got 28 points off turnovers. They’ll try to make it two championships in a row at 4:45 p.m. Saturday. Panorama had a 12-game winning streak broken and finished with a school record for victories at 25-2. Payton Beckman led the Panthers with 14 points and eight rebounds. Jaidyn Sellers collected six rebounds and two steals for Panorama, which played in the semifinals for the second time in school history.
Central Lyon 53, Denver 35
Central Lyon punched its ticket to the finals with a solid all-around performance in a 53-35 victory over Denver. The Lions, who won the Class 1A championship in 2013, will face defending champion Dike-New Hartford for this year’s crown at 4:45 p.m. Saturday. Third-seeded Central Lyon ran its offense efficiently, took care of the ball and played stingy defense in sidelining the second-seeded Cyclones. The Lions got the ball inside with drives to the basket and sharp passes into the post and complemented that by knocking down 7-of-14 3-point shots. And the Lions (24-2) did it with near-perfect balance. Afton Schlumbohm and Addison Klosterbuer scored 12 points each, sophomore Desta Hoogendorn had 11, Regan Van Wyhe added 10 and Kaylee Davis contributed eight. Schlumbohm, Van Wyhe and Hoogendoorn each grabbed five rebounds, while Schlumbohm added five assists to her line. Klosterbuer, a junior who has committed to South Dakota, went 4-for-7 to lead the 3-point shooting.
Class 1A Semifinals
MMCRU 66, Newell-Fonda 62
Class 1A will have a new champion after MMCRU knocked off Newell-Fonda on Friday afternoon. The Royals did a good job of handling the Mustangs pressure and had another solid shooting performance to pick up the big win. Ellie Hilbrands poured in 22 points on 7-14 shooting, including 2-2 from three and 6-6 at the foul line. Emily Dreckman had a double-double of 12 points and 13 rebounds. The Royals advance to their first ever state game two days after winning their first state game as a merged district. MMCRU Head Coach Gillian Letsche picked up her 100th career win with the Royals.
Bishop Garrigan 74, North Linn 57
Audi Crooks and Molly Joyce delivered their usual big-time performances to lead Bishop Garrigan past North Linn 74-57 and into the Class 1A championship game. The second-seeded Golden Bears (24-3) lost to Newell-Fonda in each of the past two championship games. But when they get to Saturday’s 7 p.m. title game they’ll find fourth-seeded MMCRU as the opponent. MMCRU ended top-seeded Newell-Fonda’s three-year championship run with a 66-62 victory in the other semifinal. Crooks, the 6-foot-3 junior pursued by Division I programs against the country, scored 25 points and hauled in 16 rebounds. She made 10-of-15 shots and is now 25-for-33 in the tournament with 57 points. Joyce, the junior point guard who is playing the best basketball of her career, also scored 25, handed out five assists, made three steals and sank 12-of-13 free throws. Abbie Capesius (nine points) and Zoe Montag (nine points on 3-for-4 from 3-point range) also made solid contributions for the Golden Bears, who built a 13-point lead in the third quarter, then fended off a late rush from sixth-seeded North Linn (23-2), which made it to state for the seventh time in nine years. The Golden Bears finished 22-for-25 on free throws and shot 48 percent from the field.
Class 5A Championship
Johnston 51, Waterloo West 31
The Johnston Dragons won their 2nd State Title in the past three seasons with the win over the WaHawks. Anna Gossling had 13 points and Aili Tanke and Molly Noelck each dropped in 11 for Johnston. Jada Gyamfi finished with 6 points, 12 rebounds, and 1 assist. The Dragons took control of the game with a 16-2 advantage in the third quarter.
Class 5A All-Tournament Team
Class 3A Championship
Estherville-Lincoln Central 44, Ballard 30
One big scoring run was enough to produce a state championship for Estherville-Lincoln Central. With both teams struggling to make shots, ELC finally found some consistency midway through the second half, ran off 13 straight points and beat Ballard 44-30 to win the Class 3A state championship. Freshman Haylee Stokes led the way with 24 points and was named captain of the all-tournament team as ELC (26-2) claimed its second state title after a waiting four decades for it happen. The school’s first championship came in the six-player game in 1982. Ballard (23-4) dropped down a class this season after winning the 4A title a year ago. It’s the second runner-up finish for the Bombers, who also won a state title in 2009. Jordyn Stokes added nine points for ELC, while Jaydan Nitchals had six points and 14 rebounds. All-tournament selection Kaitlyn Tendal had five points, four rebounds and two steals. Brooke Loewe led Ballard with 13 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Meg Rietz scored six for the Bombers, who managed only 23 points through the first three quarters and shot just 23.4 percent.
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