Johnston made the shots it needed down the stretch and turned back a young but talented Southeast Polk team to reach the Class 4A semifinals for the second straight year.
Northern Iowa recruit Maya McDermott scored 30 points, including the game-tying 3-pointer, and the third-seeded Dragons beat sixth-seeded Southeast Polk 75-71 in a well-played back-and-forth game.
Johnston led by as many as eight points early, Southeast Polk held a six-point lead in the second half and there seven lead changes before the Dragons made the decisive plays.With her team trailing 64-61, McDermott buried a long 3-pointer to tie it and Anna Gosling made another 3 for a 67-64 lead with 2:30 remaining. Johnston's Kendall Nead followed with two free throws a minute later and the Dragons held on.
Nead, who has signed with Wisconsin-Milwaukee, scored 22 points and Gossling scored 15. Maddie Mock helped out with 10 rebounds, five assists and two points. She made the passes that led to both of the late 3s. The 5-foot-5 McDermott complemented her scoring with six rebounds, six assists and six steals.
Southeast Polk had only one senior but played with poise and confidence throughout. Sophomore Brooke Woodyard, averaging 6.6 points a game, led the Rams with 24 points and seven rebounds. Freshman Brooklin Dailey, the daughter of coach Tracy Dailey, added 13 points and six rebounds, while South Dakota commit Grace Larkins, a junior, scored 11.
The Rams' lone senior, Jessica Stuart, finished with nine points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Johnston, which beat Southeast Polk 79-70 during the regular season, will take a 22-2 record against second-seeded Iowa City High at 10 a.m. Thursday. The Dragons lost to eventual champion West Des Moines Valley in last year's semis.
Southeast Polk, the state runner-up a year ago, finishes with a 19-5 record and high hopes for the future.