Dike-New Hartford found itself in an unusual situation against Sioux Central in their Class 2A semifinal --- a challenging game.
While the final score might indicate otherwise, the Wolverines had to work to beat the Rebels 58-44 and stay in the running for a fourth consecutive state championship.
Dike-New Hartford will go for that title at 4:45 p.m. on Saturday, seeking to match Ankeny as the only schools to win four in a row. Ankeny accomplished that feat from 2002-2005.
Sioux Central defended the Wolverines as well as anyone could for 3 ½ quarters, collapsing on Payton Petersen in the middle yet still keeping outside shooting specialist Maryn Bixby covered on the perimeter. With 5 minutes left the game, the Rebels trailed only 45-39 after scoring the first six points for the fourth quarter.
They got no closer, however.
Bixby lobbed the ball into Petersen for a layup and a minute later, she fired an inbounds pass to Payton Foster in the right corner and Foster buried a 3-pointer. That sequence launched a 12-2 run that stretched the lead 57-41 with less than 2 minutes to play and essentially sealed the victory.
The Wolverines got a scare when Petersen’s twin, Jadyn, was helped off the floor at the 2:31 mark in the first quarter. She returned with 6:02 left in the second quarter and finished the game as her usually hustling self – rebounding, defending, coming up with loose balls and hitting the occasional shot.
Payton Petersen finished with 28 points and 19 rebounds but needed 27 shots to get her 11 field goals. She had several shots blocked and had to take others through a forest of arms. But when the Wolverines were able to isolate her one-one-one, she usually was automatic. She also blocked four shots, handed out two assists and made a steal.
Bixby put up 11 points, six assists and four steals. She hit seven 3-pointers in a quarterfinal win over Cascade but was limited to three shots from distance in this one, making one. Jayden Petersen collected 16 rebounds and had two assists, three blocks, three steals and seven points. Foster scored nine points with two 3-pointers.
Preslie Peterson led Sioux Central with 14 points, Morgan Christian had 13 points, six assists and five steals and Avery Wilson scored 12 with three 3-pointers. Wilson also had seven rebounds, three blocks and two steals. The Rebels blocked 10 shots in all and forced 17 turnovers.
Sioux Central led twice in the early going and the score was tied four times. Dike-New Hartford broke the final tie with a 6-0 run that Bixby capped with the 3-pointers late in the first half. The Wolverines led the rest of the way but never got comfortable until their late run.
Dike-New Hartford’s closest regular-season victory was by 13 points and the Wolverines had won their first four postseason games by an average margin of 30. They’re now 25-2 and stand 102-5 over the last four seasons.
Sioux Central qualified for the state tournament of the first time and made it a memorable trip. The Rebels finished 23-2, with their other loss to Class 1A power Newell-Fonda.