#4 seed Marcus Meriden Cleghorn Remsen Union squares off against top seed and defending champ Newell Fonda in the 1A semifinals Friday afternoon.
The rematch went to the Royals. 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 Wednesday 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 was the key to the win.
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 Royals 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. The Spartans only other loss was to Class 2A semifinalist Panorama in late January. It 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.
Last year’s trip to state was the first for MMCRU, which has lost only to Unity Christian, the top-ranked team and defending champion in Class 3A.
The Royals will face another major challenge when they return to Wells Fargo Arena for their semifinal game. The opponent is No. 1-ranked Newell-Fonda, which is seeking its fourth consecutive state championship and rolled over North Mahaska 77-44 in its quarterfinal. They’ll meet Friday at 1:30 p.m.
The top-seeded Mustangs sit just two victories from a record-tying fourth consecutive state championship.
They did it the usual way with swarming defense that produced fast break 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. 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. Ten Newell-Fonda players recorded at least one steal.
North Mahaska (23-2) did a decent job converting when it got through the pressure but just did not get enough opportunities. Addie Schilling led the Warhawks (23-2) with 14 points, while Layla Hargis had 13 points and eight rebounds.
Newell-Fonda is 28-12 in state tournament games, with those 28 wins ranking fourth among Iowa schools, behind Ankeny (47), Mediapolis (31) and Dowling Catholic (30).
Ankeny is the only school with four consecutive state titles. Newell Fonda would be in position to tie that mark with a win in the semifinals. Opening tip is set for 1:30 pm Friday.
