Friday, March 7
2A Semifinals
#5 Central Lyon (20-4) 63, #1 Eddyville Blakesburg Fremont 49 — Another number one seed is toppled as Aubrey Metzger led the Lions in the 2A Finals with 22 points and 16 rebounds. Central Lyon is now 21-4 and were runners up in 2022 and 2023 and now they hope the third time in the championship game is the charm. EBF led 3-0 to start the game but Danika Hoogedoorn answered with a three of her own and moments later they took the lead and never let it go the rest of the game. In the 2nd quarter, the Lions led 17-12 and used 12-3 run to put the lead into double figures and the Rockets were playing catch up the entire 2nd half. EBF ends their season at 25-1.
#3 Hinton 51, #2 Iowa City Regina 45 — The Blackhawks go to 25-0 on the season and withstood a back and forth challenge from Regina. There were 12 lead changes in the game — the game was tied at 42 with 5:29 left in the 4th quarter and Sydney Doeshot hit a three pointer to give Hinton the lead. After each team had a miss, Morgan Millie tied it at 45 with a three at the 2:41 mark. Doeshot answered with a lay-up and foul with 1:35 left and the three point play would be the biggest play of the game. Doeshot led the Blackhawks with 24 points and Hinton will face off with Central Lyon for the 2A title tomorrow at 4:45 pm. Regina’s season ends at 24-2.
1A Semifinals
#1 Council Bluffs St. Albert 59, #4 Bishop Garrigan, Algona 51 — After losing in the semifinals a year ago, the Saintes did not let that happen in 2025 holding off the 2022 and 2023 champions. St. Albert was efficient from three point range, hitting 6-14 for 43 percent from beyond the arc. Three players were in double figures for the Saintes — Maura Ryan led with 16 points, Ellie Monahan had 13 and Avah Underwood finished with 12. St. Albert advances to the 1A Finals with a 25-1 record while the Golden Bears finish at 23-4.
#3 Newell-Fonda 48, #2 North Linn 38— In a rematch of last year’s state title game, the Mustangs got revenge from the Lynx and advance to the 1A State Championship against St. Albert tomorrow at 7 pm. Only three schools have won more girls basketball championships than Newell Fonda who have won four — Xavier and Dowling have 5 and will be going for #6 this year and Ankeny leads the way with 9. Kinzee Hinders led with 22 points and Newell Fonda goes to 22-4 while North Linn falls to 24-2.
5A Championship
#1 Johnston 55, #2 Dowling Catholic 44 — The Dragons go back-to-back by using a 12-0 run to start the 3rd quarter after trailing 20-19 at the half. Balanced scoring for Johnston with four players in double figures — Kelli Kalb had 13 points, Ari Phillips and Jenica Lewis each had 12 and Jaliyah Kinnetz added 10. Amani Jenkins finished with 18 rebounds. The Dragons beat the Maroons three times this season — in all three games, Dowling led at halftime. Johnston has not lost a game since March 3, 2023 in the state championship game to Pleasant Valley. Johnston goes 26-0 and Dowling finishes 22-4.
Class 5A All-Tournament Team
Ari Phillips, Johnston
Ava Zediker, Dowling Catholic
Romey Croatt, Waukee Northwest
Jenica Lewis, Johnston
Ellie Muller, Dowling Catholic
Amani Jenkins, Johnston (Captain)
3A Championship
#1 Mount Vernon 47, #2 Dubuque Wahlert 36 — The Mustangs win their second state championship ever — the last one was back in 2010. Mount Vernon led most of the way in this game — Sydney Huber an Evansville recruit led the way with 24 points on 9-13 shooting and 3-5 from three point land. The Mustangs shot 45 percent from the field while Wahlert shot just 23 percent. The Golden Eagles finish their season 21-5 while the Mustangs go 26-1. Four years ago, Mount Vernon went 1-20 on the season.
Class 3A All Tournament Team
Courtney Frank, Mount Vernon
Carly Rich, Williamsburg
Haylee Stokes, Estherville Lincoln Central
Savannah Wright, Mount Vernon
Claire Lueken, Wahlert
Sydney Huber, Mount Vernon (Captain)
