Mount Vernon overwhelmed Harlan with its 3-point shooting and rolled into the Class 3A semifinals with a sterling performance in all areas.
The Mustangs knocked down 14 of 24 shots from deep, a 3A record in a five-class tournament, and beat the Cyclones 67-25 with a huge surge in the middle of the game.. The old record had been 12 3-point field goals, which Pocahontas accomplished twice, in 2015 and 2017.
Mount Vernon shot it well inside the arc, too, and finished at 55.6 percent (25-of-45) overall. The Mustangs also outrebounded the Cyclones 33-23, came up with nine steals and had assists on 16 of their 25 field goals.
Sydney Huber led the Mustangs with 14 points and went 4-for-8 from 3-point range. That should be no surprise because she’s the daughter of former Iowa State star Stacy Frese, one of the most prolific 3-point shooters in Cyclones history.
Peyton Simpson added 13 points and went 3-for-6 from deep, Taylor Franck scored 12 and knocked down two 3-pointers, while volleyball star Chloe Meester dominated inside with 11 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and two steals.
Harlan, making its 15th trip to state, kept pace early and trailed just 14-10 late in the first quarter. The Mustangs then kicked it up a notch and there was nothing the Cyclones could do to stem the tide.
Mount Vernon hit six 3s in a 26-3 run to open a 40-13 lead and was up 40-15 at halftime. The Mustangs then started the second half with 15 straight points to make it 55-15 and set a running clock in motion. At that point, Mount Vernon had outscored Harlan 41-5 since it was 14-10.
The Mustangs didn’t stop there. Two threes by Eryn Jackson and another by Simpson stretched the lead to 64-23 and reserves finished it up. Jackson ended up with nine points on 3-for-4 shooting from behind the arc.
Mount Vernon is in the state tournament for the first time since 2016, but most of the players have big game experience from the school’s volleyball and softball teams. The fourth-seeded Mustangs improved to 22-3 and will play top seed Estherville-Lincoln Central in the semifinals at 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
Harlan finishes with a 20-4 record. Aubrey Schwieso led the Cyclones with seven points and Ava Monson scored six. Erica Rust led Harlan with seven rebounds.