Class 2A Quarterfinals:

#2 Denver 58, #7 Underwood 51

Denver sophomore Macy Matthias knocked down two 3-pointers to put her team ahead to stay late in the third quarter and the second-seeded Cyclones went on to beat seventh-seeded Underwood 58-51 to start Day 3 of the 2022 state tournament.  Denver improved 24-2 with the victory.  The Cyclones also got a big lift from senior starter Sydney Eggena, who was averaging a modest 6.5 points. She finished with 18 on 7-for-12 shooting to lead all scorers and grabbed six rebounds.  Teammate Reese Johnson filled the stat sheet with 12 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and four steals, while Grace Hennessy added 10 points, six rebounds and two steals.  Underwood (22-3) reached the state tournament for the first time since IGHSAU Hall of Famer Jamie Boyd led the Eagles to consecutive state titles in 2003 and 2004. And with only one senior, they have a promising future.  That senior, Kendra Kuck, led Underwood with 13 points. She also made three steals, blocked a shot and handed out an assist. Juniors Aliya Humphrey and Leah Hall each scored 10 points for the Eagles and Humphrey added five assists. Alizabeth Jacobsen, a 6-foot-3 sophomore who has star potential, grabbed 13 rebounds, blocked two shots and scored nine points on 4-for-5 shooting.

#3 Central Lyon 42, #6 Cascade 40

A dramatic finish ended the Class 2A quarterfinals and sent third-seeded Central Lyon into the next round.  Sophomore Desta Hoogendoorn took a bounce pass from Regan Van Wyhe and hit a short jumper in the lane at the buzzer to give Central Lyon a 42-40 victory over Cascade.  Hoogendoorn finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Lions (23-2), who’ll face second-seeded Denver in a semifinal at 11:45 a.m. Friday. She also had three assists and two steals and blocked four shots.  Addison Klosterbuer added 14 points with four 3-pointers and nine rebounds for Central Lyon, while Kaylee Davis had six points and seven rebounds.  Ally Hoffman led Cascade with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Alyssa Lux added eight points, three assists and three steals for the Cougars (20-4), who made the tournament for the eighth time in 10 seasons.

CLASS 1A Quarterfinals

#1 Newell-Fonda 77, #8 North Mahaska 44

The top-seeded Mustangs swept past eighth-seeded North Mahaska 77-44 to open the Class 1A quarterfinals and now sit just two victories from a record-tying fourth consecutive state championship.  They did it the usual way – with swarming defense that produced fastbreak layups and points in bunches. Newell-Fonda came up with 29 steals in this one and forced 40 turnovers in all.  The Mustangs (24-1) weren’t perfect. They had 23 turnovers themselves.  But they shot 53 percent in the second and 50.8 percent for the game and amassed 46 points off turnovers.  All 15 players saw action for coach Dick Jungers and 11 scored.  Macy Sievers, the lone senior who starts for the Mustangs, led with 16 points on 8-for-12 shooting – mostly layups after steals. She also grabbed four rebounds, handed out three assists and made six steals.  Sophomore Kierra Jungers, the coach’s daughter, had 15 points, five rebounds, five blocks and five steals and Mary Walker scored 11. Freshman Kinzee Hinders came off the bench to get nine points, three rebounds and four steals.  Sophomore Isabel Bartek was the only starter who didn’t score, but she contributed five assists, four rebounds and four steals. Ten Newell-Fonda players recorded at least one steal.

#4 MMCRU 50, #5 Exira-EHK 39

In a repeat pairing from last year’s Class 1A quarterfinals, fourth-seeded MMCRU jumped out early and beat fifth-seeded Exira-EHK 50-39 to move on to Friday’s semifinal round.  The Royals (25-1) turned the tables after losing to the Spartans 60-55 in the quarterfinal round a year ago. A fast start did the trick.  MMCRU made six of its first eight shots, including three 3-pointers, in bolting to a 15-2 lead less than 4 minutes into the game. The Royals were up 17-7 at the end of the quarter and the Spartans never found enough office to cut into that lead.  Exira-EHK managed only six field goals in the first half and shot 29.4 percent for the game.  Emily Dreckman led the winners with 18 points, six rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Taylor Harpenau and Mya Holmes each scored nine points and Ellie Hilbrands added eight points to go with 13 rebounds. Holmes complemented her scoring with six rebounds, three blocks and two steals.  Quinn Grubbs and Mollie Rasmussen led Exira-EHK (22-2) with 11 points each. Macy Emgarten added eight points and eight rebounds for the Spartans, whose only other loss was to Class 2A semifinalist Panorama in late January.  This was Exira-EHK’s sixth trip to state in the last eight years and only the second time the Spartans failed to reach the semifinals in that span.

#2 Bishop Garrigan 77, #7 Burlington Notre Dame 42

6-3 junior Audi Crooks poured in 32 points as Bishop Garrigan raced past previously unbeaten Burlington Notre Dame 77-42 and into the Class 1A semifinals for the third straight year. Crooks scored mainly on lob passes from her teammates in making 15-of-18 shots. And two of those misses didn’t matter because she grabbed the rebound and went right back up to score. College coaches have been impressed by how deftly she catches the ball and that was apparent when she easily snared a long pass from point guard Molly Joyce and banked in a layup. Joyce also was a big factor, scoring 25 points to go with six assists, five rebounds and seven steals. Abbie Capesius added 12 points and eight rebounds for the second-seeded Golden Bears, who shot 55 percent and will take a 23-3 record into the semifinals at 3:15 p.m. Friday. Win that one and Bishop Garrigan would be in the championship game for the third straight year. The Golden Bears lost to Newell-Fonda in their two previous appearances. Bishop Garrigan has won 20 straight since a 3-3 start against a rigorous schedule that included games with Class 5A Iowa City West, 3A tournament semifinalist West Lyon and Newell-Fonda, which beat the Golden Bears 74-70.

#6 North Linn 58, #3 Springville 56