DES MOINES, Iowa – After winning two straight state championships in volleyball, Denver is now taking aim at a basketball title. 

Mylee Thurm’s layup broke the last of three fourth-quarter ties and Denver survived a banked-in 3-pointer to beat Emmetsburg, 45-42, and move into the Class 2A semifinals.  The fourth-seeded Cyclones (23-2) emerged from a game filled with twists and turns to gain a spot on the bracket against top-seeded Hinton at 10 a.m. on Friday.

 Hinton also escaped a close call, beating eighth-seeded West Lyon 46-45.

 With the score tied at 39, Denver’s Channing Johnson drove into the lane and bounced a pass to Thurm, who finished the play by making her layup with 49 seconds left. Denver’s Grace Mullihan then stole the ball, was fouled and dropped in two more free throws for a 43-39 with 31 seconds left.

But the Cyclones still weren’t home free. Emmetsburg’s Calista Joyce shot from beyond the arc just to the left of the key and the ball banked in with 11 seconds to go, drawing the E-Hawks to 43-42. Two more Mulligan free throws with 8.2 seconds remaining produced the final margin and the Cyclone fans held their breath when Emmetsburg’s Nora Nelson launched a shot from beyond that arc that appeared to be on target.

But the ball hit the front of the rim, 5-foot-7 Brilee Ackerson clutched the rebound and the Cyclones moved on.

Johnson, the setter on the two championship volleyball teams, also runs things on the basketball floor and led Denver with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Ackerson added nine points on three 3-point baskets that sparked a big third-quarter run that got the Cyclones back into the game after they trailed 23-15. Thurm finished with eight points and 10 boards.

Rachel Schany led Emmetsburg (23-3) with 16 points and Kylie Hoffman added 11 for the E-Hawks, who were making their first state tournament trip since 1999 and were seeking their first victory at state since a win in the 1993 six-player quarterfinals.