Mount Vernon won gold in 2010 in 2A, finished second in ‘11
After scoring 75 in the quarterfinals, Mount Vernon got by with its defense in the semis, hanging on for a 35-34 victory over Estherville-Lincoln Central Thursday in Class 3A from Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.
The Mustangs (24-1) will be going for their second state championship all-time, having won it all in 2010 in 2A. They were also runners-up in 3A the following year.
Sydney Huber scored 11 points including a key 3-pointer that kick-started a 9-3 run in the second half. Courtney Franck added eight points with seven rebounds while Taylor Franck had seven points, three rebounds and three steals.
Mount Vernon will meet Dubuque Wahlert in the finals on Friday at 8 p.m.
Estherville-Lincoln Central, runners-up last year, were led by Haylee Stokes, who scored 15 points with six rebounds, four assists and four steals. Hillary Ruschy had nine points on 3-pointers in the fourth to spark the rally.
Dubuque Wahlert 52, Williamsburg 34
Dubuque Wahlert's Claire Lueken led her team to a win in the state semifinals on Thursday. / Lily Smith/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK
Claire Lueken scored 27 points and Dubuque Wahlert punched its ticket to the state championship game with a 52-34 victory over Williamsburg.
Lueken was 10 of 18 from the field, burying three 3-pointers while adding eight rebounds. Claire King and Caroline Freed each scored seven, as Freed added nine rebounds.
Ruth Tauber had seven rebounds and six assists as Wahlert held a plus-13 edge on the glass.
For Williamsburg, Carly Rich had nine and Ava Hocker added six with five rebounds.
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Published Mar 6, 2025
DANA BECKER
Dana Becker has been a sports writer in Iowa since 2000, writing for The Fort Dodge Messenger, Mason City Globe-Gazette, Cedar Rapids Gazette and others. Dana resides in northcentral Iowa and started as a writer with SB Live Sports in 2022 focused on the state of Iowa. Along with providing coverage of football and wrestling, Dana also spotlights cross country, swimming, basketball, track and field, soccer, tennis, golf, baseball and softball. He began writing for High School on SI in 2023.