Council Bluffs St. Albert toughened up for the postseason with a challenging schedule and it’s paying off. Now the Saintes stand just one victory from the school’s first state championship in girls basketball.
Top-seeded St. Albert opened a 13-point lead in the first half and turned back Bishop Garrigan every time it challenged in a 59-51 victory that puts the Saintes in the Class 1A championship game. They’ll play the title at 7 p.m. Saturday – the final game in the 2025 state tournament.
The Saintes (24-1) have relied on depth and balance all season and that formula carried them again.
Sophomore guard Maura Ryan led the way with an impressive stat line – 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting, six rebounds, three assists, six steals and a block. Her basket on a drive to the hoop with a little more than 2 minutes left blunted a Bishop Garrigan comeback that had pulled the Golden Bears to within three points.
Ellie Monahan added 13 points for the Saintes, while Avah Underwood put up 12 points, 16 rebounds and five assists. Lexie Darrington contributed six points off the bench.
It was St. Albert’s second straight state tournament victory over fourh-seeded Bishop Garrigan (23-4), which lost to the Saintes 53-42 in the first round last year. Led by Audi Crooks, who now stars at Iowa State, the Golden Bears had won the state title the two previous years.
Graclyn Eastman led Bishop Garrigan in this one with 14 points, 18 rebounds and three blocks. Emmi Bartolo and Sacha Alesch each scored 10 points for Bishop Garrigan, with Alesch adding three rebounds and three assists. The Golden Bears got plenty of shots, but made only 33 percent were just 4-for-21 from 3-point range.
Even with its shooting struggles, Bishop Garrigan made the Saintes work. The Golden Bears got to within four points in the third quarter, fell behind by 13, then rallied again, putting together a 10-1 run that cut the lead to 54-51 when Bartolo scored on a fastbreak layup.
But that was the last time they scored. Ryan got to the basket for a layup with 2:04 remaining to make it a five-point game and the Saintes sank three of four free throws in the final 30 seconds to finish it off.
This will be St. Albert’s second appearance in a state championship game. The Saintes lost to North Cedar 49-45 in the 2000 Class 2A finals.
St. Albert’s only loss was to Carroll, one of several larger schools the Saintes have played this season. They own victories over Newell-Fonda, which played in the other 1A semifinal, and 2A tournament qualifier Treynor.
