DES MOINES, Iowa — A late burst of points and an overwhelming edge on the boards kept Council Bluffs St. Albert in the running for a repeat of its Class 1A state championship.
The Saintes turned things around after Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton had seized the momentum in the fourth quarter and won 45-37 to complete quarterfinal play in the 2026 state tournament.
Third-seeded St. Albert (22-3) will continue its title bid at 3:15 p.m. Friday against No. 2 seed Newell-Fonda, the team the Saintes beat 61-58 in two overtimes in last year’s championship game. Newell-Fonda (23-2) advanced with a 77-58 victory over Saint Ansgar.
The two met in a regular-season game back in January, Newell-Fonda winning 51-47.
Avah Underwood, last year’s all-tournament captain, led the Saintes with 11 points and grabbed 17 rebounds. Brooklyn Rutledge added nine points, while Eleanor Coughlin and Maeve Ryan each scored eight.
St. Albert shot just 29.5 percent and committed 16 turnovers, but compensated by outrebounding the Spartans by a whopping 51-25 margin. The Saintes collected 25 of those rebounds on the offensive end and they led to a 23-6 edge in second-chance points — a difference-making figure.
Taryn Petersen led EEHK (22-1) with 18 points and her cousin Jaelynn Petersen added eight with nine rebounds. Harlow Miller had six points and seven rebounds for the Spartans, who had a 22-game winning streak broken. Their only other loss was to Riverside in the season opener.
St. Albert looked to be in total control after rocketing to a 15-1 lead, and the Saintes were up 19-8 early in the second quarter. The Spartans then got it together with a 10-1 run, holding St. Albert without a field goal for 7 minutes and cutting the lead to 20-18.
The Saintes settled for a 22-20 lead at halftime, got its cushion back up to eight heading into the fourth quarter, then found themselves holding off an EEHK rally. The Spartans were 0-for-9 from deep before Riley Miller and Taryn Petersen each hit a 3-pointer to key a 10-2 run that pulled the Tigers into a tie at 35 with 4:57 left. But they never got the lead.
Underwood scored three times in close as the Saintes ran off eight straight points for a 43-35 lead, ending any doubt on the outcome.
St. Albert has navigated the season after losing all-state guard Maura Ryan to a knee injury in the first game.
