The favorites advanced in class 2A during the opening day of the girls’ state basketball tournament. Third ranked Battle Creek-Ida Grove scorched the nets for 54 percent shooting as they tolled past PCM Monroe 87-47 in a 2A quarterfinal. Leading scorer Kelsey Bolte finished with 22 points. Gabi Miller had a career high 24 and Shelby Schmidt added 19 points, including four of seven from three point range.
Second ranked AGWSR is headed back to the class 2A semifinals. The Cougars roared out to an 18-8 lead at the end of one in a 63-34 win over Monticello. Mindy Hutchcroft led AGWSR with 20 points and says the experience gained from last year’s tournament run was a plus. Huchcroft says last year they were just excited to get to the tournament, but this year they want to win more games.
Monticello coach Donnie Kremer was concerned about his team’s lack of tournament experience. He says he thought they handled it well early and then got rattled and didn’t settle down. Megan McLaughlin led Monticello with 14 points.
Emily Heger’s three pointer with 2:48 remaining snapped a 40 all tie and gave Lawton-Bronson the lead for good in a 54-47 win over sixth ranked Guthrie Center in a class 1A quarterfinal. Coach Kevin Mills says his team deserves it after working so hard in the off season. Mandy Wagner led Lawton-Bronson with 22 points. Andrea Clark paced Guthrie Center with 20.