High School Girls’ Postseason Basketball
Class 5A will feature a championship rematch after #1 Johnston thrashed #4 Ankeny Centennial yesterday 62-41. Amani Jenkins led the scoring with 19 points, while Ari Phillips aided the Dragons with a 10 point/10 rebound double-double.
#2 Dowling Catholic held up their end of the bargain after pulling away in the second half against #3 Waukee Northwest in a 52-47 final. Ellie Muller was a force collecting her own double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds. The Dragons and Maroons will face off tonight at 6 pm for the championship.
In Class 3A, #1 Mt. Vernon won a slugfest against #5 Estherville Lincoln Central 35-34 as only one Mustang finished the night in double figures (Sydney Huber with 11 points). #2 Wahlert Catholic will be playing for their first state championship after dispatching Williamsburg 52-34. Claire Luken put up an impressive 27 points. The championship bout will be played tonight at 8 pm.
For Class 4A, #8 Xavier’s head coach Tom Lilly announced earlier this season that he would retire at season’s end, the Saints are still playing after knocking out #4 Norwalk 70-60 as Libby Fandel continued her dominating play, gathering 21 points and 14 rebounds. The squad will look to send coach Lilly out with his sixth state championship.
Standing in the way of the Cinderella story will be #2 North Polk as Greta Dillinger knocked down seven three-pointers for 21 points in a 52-30 victory over #6 Dallas Center-Grimes. The Comets are eyeing their first state championship.
In Class 2A, #5 Central Lyon will compete against #1 Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont in the semifinals today at 10 am. #2 Regina Catholic and #3 Hinton will face off in the semifinals today at 11:45 am.
In Class 1A, #1 St. Albert will face off against #4 Bishop Garrigan today for the semifinals at 1 pm. On the bottom half of the bracket, #3 Newell-Fonda and #2 North Linn will meet in the semifinals today at 3:15 pm.
High School Boys’ Postseason Basketball
Joining North Linn in the Class 1A state tournament set to start on March 10th will be Boyden-Hull, St. Edmond, Marquette Catholic, Gladbrook-Reinbeck, Madrid, Woodbine, and Remsen St. Mary’s.
Also punching their ticket to the Class 2A state tournament with Grand View Christian were Unity Christian, West Lyon, Jesup, Grundy Center, Union Community, Treynor, and Western Christian.
Knoxville is making their first trip to the state tournament since 2000 and joining them in Class 3A will be MOC-Floyd Valley, Storm Lake, Clear Lake, Xavier, Central DeWitt, ADM, and Ballard.
Attending state for Class 4A will be Waukee, Ames, Cedar Falls, Linn-Mar, Dubuque Senior, Cedar Rapids Kennedy, Waukee Northwest, and Valley.
High School Football
The Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) released the District and Group assignments for the next two year cycle with schedules for the 2025 and 2026 seasons to be released as soon as possible and there was a bit of a shakeup amongst our local teams.
In Eight-Player, Winfield-Mt. Union and WACO will remain together in District 5 but Belle Plaine will be the new squad in the mix. The opening was due to New London’s jump up to Class A where they will join Columbus, Danville, Van Buren County, Wapello, Highland, and Pekin in District 5.
Over in Class 2A, Mid-Prairie will look to repeat as district champion as they are joined by West Burlington/Notre Dame, Wilton, West Liberty, Central Lee, and Mediapolis in District 6.
For Class 3A, The Southeast Conference found a home together in District 4 with Fairfield jumping in with Fort Madison, Keokuk, Washington, and Mt. Pleasant. Solon will be the odd-man out in the district. Burlington will be in District 3 of Class 4A with Clinton, North Scott, Western Dubuque, Davenport North, and Davenport West.
Southeastern Community College
The men’s basketball team defeated Marshalltown Community College last night 76-64 to advance in the ICCAC Region 11 Championship. The Blackhawks will travel to Indian Hills tomorrow, March 8th, to play for the championship with tip-off at 7 pm.
College Basketball
The #10 Iowa State men’s team will attempt to venture back into the win column tomorrow, March 8th, at 12:30 pm against Kansas State on the road.
The Iowa men’s team held a seven point lead at halftime over #8 Michigan State but the Spartans proved to be too much, winning 91-84. Josh Dix had 18 points in the effort. The Hawkeyes will face off against Nebraska on the road on Sunday, March 9th, at 11:30 am for their regular season finale.
The #11-seed Iowa women’s team upset the #6-seed Michigan State last night 74-61 to advance to the Big Ten quarterfinals. Lucy Olsen scored 21 points and grabbed four of the team’s 16 steals in the win. The Hawkeyes will take on the #3-seed Ohio State tonight at 8 pm.
The Iowa State women’s team advanced in the Big 12 tournament after outlasting Arizona State 96-88 in a high scoring affair. Addy Brown set a tournament program single-game record with a career-high 41 points in the victory. The Cyclones will compete against Baylor tonight at 5:30 pm in the Big 12 quarterfinals.
This Day in Sports History
1982 – NCAA Tournament Selection televised live for the first time.
1986 – Wayne Gretzky breaks own NHL season record with 136th assist.
1988 – Jim Abbott, a one-handed pitcher, wins the 58th James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States, becoming the first baseball player to win the award.