Council Bluffs St. Albert ended Algona Bishop Garrigan’s hopes of a third consecutive state championship with a significant victory of its own.
The Saintes built a 14-7 lead by the end of the first quarter and stayed ahead the rest of the way in beating the Golden Bears 53-42 to reach the Class 1A semifinals.
Bishop Garrigan made it back to state despite losing stars Audi Crooks and Molly Joyce to graduation. But without the 6-foot-3 Crooks, the Golden Bears struggled against St. Albert’s 6-4 Missy Evezic and 6-foot Avah Underwood around the basket.
Underwood led St. Albert with 13 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. Evezic contributed eight rebounds and six points, while Lily Krohn scored 12 for the Saintes on 5-for-9 shooting. It was St. Albert’s first state tournament victory since a 51-44 win over West Marshall in the 2000 semifinals and its third overall.
Zoe Montag, one of the team’s two returning starters, led Bishop Garrigan with 12 points and freshman Graclyn Eastman had 10 points and 13 rebounds. The other returning starter, Abbie Capesius, logged a strong line with nine points, 10 rebounds, four assists and six steals.
St. Albert led by as many 15 points in the first half and was up 28-16 at the break. Bishop Garrigan pulled to within five points on three occasions, the last time at 43-38 when Capesius sank two free throws with 5:23 left. The Saintes never let it get any closer.
Krohn fed Underwood for a layup, Evezic scored on a putback and Krohn followed with a driving layup, stretching the lead to 49-38 with 3:29 to play. That cushion was more than enough to keep the Golden Bears in check.
St. Albert improved to 23-1 and will face top-seeded North Linn at 1:30 p.m. on Friday. The Saintes’ only loss was to Class 3A tournament qualifier Harlan.
Bishop Garrigan had been seeking a fifth straight trip to the championship game. The Golden Bears lost to Newell-Fonda in the 2020 and 2021 finals before winning it all the past two years. They finished with a 23-3 record.