Girls’ State Basketball
The Quarterfinal round is complete for all five classes as today marks the first of the Semifinal matchups. Here’s a recap of yesterday’s matchups.
Class 2A almost saw two upsets in the bottom half of the bracket as both lower seeds had a lead at halftime. #2 Panorama utilized a 22-point third quarter to eventually defeat #7 Grundy Center 59-49. Morgan Crees finished with 19 points, nine rebounds, and four steals.
#3 Westwood kept their undefeated season alive after holding #6 Central Lyon to just seven second half points to win 35-32. The Rebels shot just 25% from the field as Addy Johnson led the winning effort with 11 points. #2 Panorama and #3 Westwood will square off tomorrow, March 1st, at 11:45 am.
Moving on to Class 1A, #1 North Linn has dominated for the entire year and that remained true against #8 Montezuma, holding the Braves to six first half points to win 68-38. Macy Boge cashed in for 20 points.
#4 St. Albert defeated #5 Bishop Garrigan 53-42. Avah Underwood totaled a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. #1 North Linn will face off against St. Albert tomorrow at 1:30 pm.
#2 Newell-Fonda sprinted past #7 Calamus-Wheatland 68-30 after scoring 35 points off of their 29 turnovers. Kinzee Hinders scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the win.
#3 Remsen St. Mary’s took down #6 Martensdale-St. Marys 52-33 to round out last night. Remsen St. Mary’s fed off of points off turnovers and second chances. #2 Newell-Fonda will square off against #3 Remsen St. Mary’s tomorrow at 3:15 pm.
The order of the Class Semifinals today will start with Class 5A then Class 3A with Class 4A finishing off the day. #1 Johnston will take on #4 Waukee at 10 am. #7 Cedar Falls will face off against #3 Dowling Catholic for Class 5A.
For Class 3A, #1 Estherville Lincoln Central will compete against #4 Mt. Vernon. #2 Des Moines Christian will tango with #3 Solon.
To round out the day, #1 Clear Creek-Amana will be attempting to stay unbeaten against #5 North Polk as well as #2 Waverly-Shell Rock as the Go-Hawks face off against #3 Bishop Heelan at 6:45 pm for Class 4A.
Boys’ State Basketball
#4 Winfield-Mt. Union will take on #5 Lynnville-Sully on Monday, March 4th, at 12:15 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at noon.
#4 West Burlington will face off against #5 Treynor on March 4th at 7:15 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 7 pm.
College Signing
The Waldorf University men’s soccer team will be adding a Panther to their roster in the fall after Angel Avila signed his letter of intent to play for the Warriors yesterday.
Avila has collected two assists and two goals in his Mt. Pleasant career playing as a midfielder. He will be joining a Warrior squad that finished 2-14-1 last season and he’s looking forward to the opportunity to get some quality playing time.
“You know, I like the program. I connected really well with the coaches; the men’s soccer program is pretty good, and I feel like I get really good playing time there. But play as a probably in the midfield. That’s where I shine most.”
The Panthers are looking to improve upon their 4-10 record from last season as they search for their first winning season since 2018-19 and Avila is looking to make that happen.
“I feel like I just want to do really good, perform really good for the team. I’m just excited for what’s to come. We’re aiming for state, hopefully.”
Mt. Pleasant will start the season at home on March 28th against Clear Creek-Amana with Fairfield on April 4th being their first home conference matchup.
College Basketball
The #6 Iowa women’s team stomped Minnesota last night 108-60. Caitlin Clark finished with a triple-double as she scored 33 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and dished out 12 assists as she became the all-time major women’s college basketball leading scorer. The Hawkeyes will take on #2 Ohio State on Sunday, March 3rd, at home at noon.
The Iowa State women’s team took down Kansas State last night 82-76. Addy Brown went off for 24 points as she also grabbed 11 rebounds to finish the night with a double-double. The Cyclones will host Cincinnati on Saturday, March 2nd, at 1 pm.
The #8 Iowa State men’s team’s stingy defense gave the Cyclones the 58-45 win against Oklahoma last night. Demarion Watson scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds off the bench in the winning effort. The Cyclones will face off against UCF on Saturday at 3 pm.
The Iowa men’s team will face off against Northwestern on Saturday at 4:30 pm on the road.
This Day in Sports History
1940 – Detroit’s Cecil “Tiny” Thompson becomes first goaltender in NHL history to play 40 (or more) games for 12 straight seasons; milestone comes in a 3-1 Red Wings loss at Toronto.
1964 – Cincinnati’s Jerry Lucas and Oscar Robertson combine for a rare 40-40 performance as the Royals beat host Philadelphia 76ers, 117-114; NBA MVP Robertson has 43 points; Rookie of the Year Lucas, 40 rebounds.
1992 – Boston’s Ray Bourque becomes just the third defenseman in NHL history to score 1,000 career points with a goal and 2 assists in the Bruins’ 5-5 tie with Washington Capitals at Boston Garden.