Make it two straight at state and 52 straight in the victory column.
The Johnston Dragons just keep rolling along.
Johnston hit Dowling Catholic with a third-quarter blitz and went on to beat the Maroons 55-44 to win its second consecutive Class 5A championship and fifth since 2000. And the two times the Dragons didn’t win it in that span, they finished second.
It’s been quite a run and with four starters coming back, the Dragons should be favored for the three-peat.
The title capped a second straight 26-0 season for the Dragons, who trailed 20-19 at halftime and then overwhelmed the Maroons (22-4) with their shot-making, passing and quick hands on defense.
There was no single star for the Dragons on this night because everyone contributed. Freshman Kelli Kalb led the scoring with 13 points. Jenica Lewis and Ari Phillips each scored 12 points and Jaliyah Kinnetz delivered 10 points off the bench. All-tournament captain Amari Jenkins, the only senior who started, scored six points and grabbed 18 rebounds.
Dowling never got untracked on offense and shot just 33 percent. The Maroons also struggled at the free throw line, making just six of 14, and went 6-for-22 from 3-point range.
Ava Zediker led the Maroons with 20 points, but no one else reached double figures. Ellie Muller and Ellie Olson both scored six and Muller pulled down 15 rebounds to give her 47 for the tournament, the most ever in the 5A field.
Zediker’s 3-pointer in the final minute of the second quarter gave Dowling its one-point halftime. By the time the Maroons scored again, Johnston was well on its way to breaking it open. The Dragons made their first seven shots in the second half and 10 of the first 11.
The Dragons ran a slick set coming out of the halftime break, Jenkins finding Phillips for a layup just 8 seconds in. Lewis followed with a runner, then zipped a pass to Kalb in the right corner for a 3-pointer. Seconds later, Kalb swiped the ball from Zediker and took it in for a layup. A 3 by Kinnetz on a pass from Phillips made it 31-20 and less than 3 minutes had elapsed.
Zediker’s trey interrupted the run but only briefly. Kinnetz beat the defense down the floor for a fastbreak layup and Phillips hit a short pull-up jumper for a 39-28 lead going into the final quarter.
The Dragons hit nine of their 10 shots in the third quarter, then made two more in the fourth quarter – both 3-pointers – before missing for the second time in the half.
Down by 14, Dowling twice pulled to within eight, the second time at 52-44 on Muller’s 3-pointer with 1:23. But that was the Maroons’ last gasp and Johnston finished it up with free throws.
Phillips, Lewis, Zediker and Muller joined Jenkins on the all-tournament team along with Romey Croatt of Waukee Northwest.
