(From IGHSAU)

How often is it said that defense wins championships?

Well, it definitely did for Cascade.

Cascade held Grundy Center without a field goal for 16 minutes in the middle of the game and beat the Spartans 41-37 to win the Class 2A state championship.

But it sure wasn’t easy.

Despite its struggles against Cascade’s tough zone, Grundy Center rallied from a 13-point deficit behind Hailey Wallis and tied the game at 37 when Wallis, the all-tournament captain, sank two free throws with 1:16 left.

Cascade’s Abby Welter broke the tie with a pair of free throws — her only points of the game — and the sixth-ranked Cougars made a last defensive stand.

Grundy Center forced a jump ball after missing a shot with 4 seconds left and inbounded from under its own basket. Cascade’s Anne Ryan, the only senior who started for either team, tipped the long inbounds pass, teammate Nicole McDermott grabbed it and was fouled. McDermott then sank two free throws to finish it off and the Cougars had their first title.

McDermott led Cascade with an impressive stat line — 15 points, nine rebounds, eight steals, four assists and three blocks. Ryan scored 13 points and Jordan Simon added 11. Rachel Trumm did not score for the Cougars but grabbed 12 rebounds.

Wallis did almost everything for eighth-ranked Grundy Center, scoring all 24 of her team’s points from the second quarter on. She finished with 29, including 18 free throws without a miss. She also grabbed eight rebounds and made five steals.

Only two other players scored for Grundy Center, Kylie Willis and Brooke Flater each getting four. Cascade held the Spartans to eight field goals and 16.3 percent shooting.

That’s not a big surprise because defense has been Cascade’s calling card for years. Only two teams scored more than 50 points on the Cougars this season and one of them needed three overtimes to get there. That was a 62-53 win over North Union in the state tournament semifinals.

Cascade, the state runner-up in 2009, finishes 25-3. Grundy Center played for the title on the day former Spartans star Kim Van Deest was inducted into the IGHSAU Hall of Fame. Grundy closes out a fine season with a 24-2 record.

Wallis was joined on the all-tournament team by McDermott, Simon, Grundy Center’s Maddie McMartin, Kayla Chapman of Treynor and Chloe Lofstrom of North Union.

(From Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union)

It’s a three-peat for Springville.

Springville completed an incredibly successful run by its senior class by knocking off unbeaten Newell-Fonda 60-49 to win its third straight Class 1A state championship.

The top-ranked Orioles got big games from their two leaders, Mikayla Nachazel and Rylee Menster, and prevailed against the school that had defeated Springville in the 2015 championship game.

The title, the fourth overall for Springville, came in Christina Zaruba’s first season as the Orioles’ head coach. She had been an assistant the three previous seasons.

Nachazel, a 5-foot-11 senior, led the way with 25 points, 11 rebounds and three steals. She hit nine of 13 shots with a variety of slick moves around the basket and also knocked down a 3-pointer to help secure the victory in the fourth quarter.

Menster added 14 points, four assists and two steals in her final high school game. She and Nachazel will play at Minnesota State next season.

Nichole Kane and Sami Johnson each scored seven for the Orioles, who finish 24-3.

Megan Morenz led fourth-ranked Newell-Fonda with 12 points and Olivia Larsen scored 11. Larsen, who had totaled 51 points in the first two rounds, picked up two early fouls and played only five minutes in the first half.

Springville broke a 13-13 tie with Kane’s 3-pointer early in the second quarter and led the rest of the way. However, Newell-Fonda never let the Orioles get comfortable until the final minute or so, even after Springville built a 16-point lead.

A 7-0 run drew the Mustangs to 56-47, but they could not get any closer and Springville finished off its title with free throws.

Springville, which also won a state championship in 2008, becomes the eighth school to win three consecutive titles. Nachazel, Menster and the other seniors concluded their careers with a four-year record of 97-10.

Newell-Fonda, finishing as the state runner-up for the sixth time, closed out a 26-1 season.

Nachazel was voted captain of the all-tournament team for the third straight year. She was joined by Menster, Morenz, Larsen, Sophia Peppers of Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton and Alli Masters of Central Decatur.

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast w/Jim Field.

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1A State Championship

Springville 60, Newell-Fonda 49

2A State Championship

Cascade,Western Dubuque 41, Grundy Center 37

3A State Championship

Crestwood, Cresco 73, Sioux Center 48

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Texas guard Ariel Atkins opened the Big 12 Tournament with one of the most productive games of her decorated career. The senior scored a season-high 25 points to help seventh-ranked Longhorns beat Iowa State 81-69 on Saturday in the quarterfinals. The all-conference pick made 5 of 6 3-pointers and finished one point short of her career high.

The Longhorns shot 55.2 percent from the field to claim their third victory over the Cyclones this season. Emily Durr and Bridget Carleton each scored 25 points for the Cyclones (14-17). Durr, a senior, fell just two points short of her career high.Carleton scored 14 points in the first half for Iowa State, but her teammates shot 5 for 20.

The Cyclones improved late in the season, winning five of eight before Saturday’s game, and they hung tight for much of this one. Durr is the only senior starter, so chances are good that the team will improve next season. Iowa State’s season likely is over.

Class 3A State Championship

3:00 p.m. – Crestwood (25-0) vs. Sioux Center (26-0)

Class 2A Championship

5:00 p.m. – Grundy Center (24-1) vs. Cascade (24-3)

Class 1A Championship

7:00 p.m. – Springville (23-3) vs. Newell-Fonda (26-0)

w/ Chris Parks

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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Bridget Carleton scored 14 of her 24 points in the first half and No. 7 seed Iowa State rolled to a 74-49 victory over 10th-seeded Texas Tech on Friday night in the first round of the Big 12 Conference Tournament.

Iowa State (14-16) will play seventh-ranked and No. 2 seed Texas (24-5) in a Saturday quarterfinal.

Carleton shot just 2 of 12 from the floor but made 9 of 10 free throws in the first half. She finished 5-of-17 shooting, made two 3-pointers and 12 of 13 free throws. Emily Durr added 15 points and Madison Wise had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Cyclones.

Brittany Brewer and Lyndsey Whilby scored 11 points apiece to lead Texas Tech. Haley Bruedigam chipped in 10 points.

Iowa State outscored the Lady Raiders 19-5 in the first quarter, built a 34-19 halftime advantage and cruised from there.

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — If this was Trae Young’s last home game for Oklahoma, he went out a winner. Young had 15 points and six assists to help Oklahoma defeat Iowa State 81-60 on Friday night. The freshman who leads the nation in scoring and assists is projected to be a high draft pick if he leaves school. He has said he will sit down with his family after the season to make a decision.

Kameron McGusty scored 18 points and Christian James added 15 for the Sooners (18-12, 8-10 Big 12), who needed the win to strengthen their NCAA Tournament resume after a blowout loss to Baylor earlier in the week. It was the first time Oklahoma won by more than 10 points since Jan. 3.

Lindell Wigginton scored 20 points for Iowa State (13-17, 4-14), which lost its sixth straight. The Cyclones were without injured starters Nick Weiler-Babb and Solomon Young for the fourth straight game, and they continued to struggle. Iowa State shot just 32.3 percent from the field.

Iowa State made just 15 of 27 free throws. Oklahoma made one more free throw than the Cyclones, despite having seven fewer attempts. Prohm, taking blame for Iowa State’s struggles: “We should be better. We are not. I take blame. Put it on me. I haven’t got them to perform on the level they need to. It’s unacceptable. It’s not what this program deserves. Bottom line. I get it. I know it. And it’s frustrating because it deserves better.”

UP NEXT: Iowa State will play in the Big 12 Tournament. Oklahoma will also play in the Big 12 Tournament.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Donte Thomas wrapped up his 13-point, 14-rebound double-double with a putback with 1.2 seconds left to lift Bradley to a 63-61 win over Drake on Friday in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

Darrell Brown led the fifth-seeded Braves (20-12) with 24 points. He sank a clutch 3-pointer to tie the game at 61 with 2:49 to play. Both teams had opportunities after that, but the fourth-seeded Bulldogs (16-16) missed their last eight shots after Reed Timmer’s 3-pointer at 6:29 produced a 57-56 lead. Bradley had four misses between its last two baskets.

Bradley faces league champion Loyola Chicago in the semifinals on Saturday.
Drake, which hasn’t played in a MVC semifinal since 2008, closed the first half with a 10-2 run for a 35-27 lead. Bradley scored the first 12 points of the second half to go up 39-35 and the biggest lead after that was six points.

Timmer led the Bulldogs with 18 points. Drake shot 29 percent from the floor in the second half and was outrebounded 25-14 after intermission.