Boys’ State Basketball
The 2024 state tournament continued yesterday and Class 2A experienced the biggest upset of the tournament.
#2 Hudson faced off against #7 Grundy Center and despite the seeding, the Spartans held a 41 to 36 lead entering the fourth quarter. But, the Pirates utilized going to the line 25 times and sinking 20 of those free throws to win 55-51. Camden Davis collected a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
#3 Underwood had entered the tournament with an undefeated record, the Eagles are no longer undefeated after losing to #6 Unity Christian yesterday 59-55. The Knights rushed out to a 15 to 8 lead at the end of the first quarter and were able to keep the Eagles from flying away with the game. Dylan Bosma led the scoring with 25 points.
#2 Hudson will take on #6 Unity Christian tomorrow, March 7th, at 12:15 pm.
Class 3A completed their quarterfinal matchups yesterday and #1 Decorah started their tournament with a stomping of #8 Williamsburg 66-42. The Raiders were held to only six points total in the second and third quarters. Ben Bockman nailed five three-pointers in the win as he finished with 29 points.
In the highest scoring matchup of the tournament through two days, #4 Assumption defeated #5 Ballard 84-73. Four players for the Knights finished with double figures as Kayvion Hodges cashed in for 19 points and grabbed 12 boards in the win.
#1 Decorah will face off against #4 Assumption tomorrow at 2 pm.
#3 Moc-Floyd Valley’s 27 point first quarter provided enough momentum for the Dutchmen to defeat last year’s champion #6 Bondurant-Farrar 67-50. Jesse Van Kalsbeek was a one man wrecking machine with 37 points, 14 rebounds, and five steals in the winning effort.
#2 Waverly-Shell Rock and #7 Pella experienced the first overtime of the tournament in the last game of the night as the Go-Hawks’ Noah Frazell made the game-winning free throw with a second left to win 65-64. Cole Marsh was the leading scorer and rebounder for Waverly-Shell Rock with 17 points and 14 boards.
#3 Moc-Floyd Valley will compete against #2 Waverly-Shell Rock tomorrow at 3:45 pm.
The Class 4A quarterfinals will commence today and the Class 1A semifinals will round out the night as #1 North Linn will face off against #4 Winfield-Mt. Union at 5:30 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 5:15 pm.
High School Track and Field
The Mt. Pleasant and Winfield-Mt. Union girls’ teams ventured up to the University of Northern Iowa to compete in the Dickinson Relays yesterday and here’s the top performers.
For the Panthers, Jenna Schwartz finished in 48th place after leaping 4’6” in the high jump. Josie Gilmore finished in 50th place.
Ja’Kiyah Sanders and Bailey Jalas finished with an identical leap of 13 feet 4.25 inches in the long jump.
Ella Ensmiger heaved the shot put 35 feet 2.25 inches to grab 13th place. English finished in 28th.
The relay teams ran well with the team of Sanders, Jalas, Courtney Raub, and Kynlee White finishing in 14th place with a time of 1:53 in the 4×200. The 4×800 relay team of Aliya Graber, Alexis Wagner, Pru Callaway, and Monroe James ran a time of 11:23 to earn 28th place. Lastly, Natalie Freeman, White, Wagner, and Raub grabbed 25th place in the 4×400 relay with a time of 4:37.
The Wolves were led by Kaelyn Townsley’s 50th place finish in the 200 meter dash with a time of 29.08 seconds. The 4×200 meter relay team of Josie Nelson, Tessa Huston, Schlee, and Aurey Meeker finished with a time of two minutes, which was good enough for 47th place.
College Basketball
The #3 Iowa women’s team grabbed the 2-seed in the Big Ten Tournament and will take on either Wisconsin or Penn State in the quarterfinal round at 5:30 pm on Friday, March 8th.
The Iowa State women’s team earned the 4-seed in the Big 12 Tournament and was awarded with a double bye into the quarterfinals. The Cyclones will play on Saturday, March 9th, at 11 am.
The #6 Iowa State men’s team will suit up for a home matchup against BYU tonight at 8 pm.
The Iowa men’s team will celebrate senior night on March 10th against Illinois at 6 pm.
Big Ten Player of the Year
For the third year in a row, Caitlin Clark nabbed Big Ten Player of the Year. She is only the second player in Big Ten history to achieve this honor in back-to-back-to-back years–Ohio State’s Jessica Davenport. Clark leads the nation in assists with 8.6 per game and scoring, with 32.3 points per game. She also earned First Team honors.
Big 12 Honors
Audi Crooks was a unanimous selection to the Big 12 First Team. Crooks broke the Cyclones’ freshman scoring mark after averaging 18.3 points per game. She earned Big 12 Player of the Week twice this season and Freshman of the Week four times.
This Day in Sports History
1945 – George Nissen of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, receives a patent for the first modern trampoline.
1954 – First ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament: NC State beats Wake Forest, 82-80 (OT).
1982 – NBA highest scoring game: San Antonio beat Milwaukee 171-166 (3 OT).
