Newell-Fonda’s quest for four goes on.
The top-seeded Mustangs swept past eighth-seeded North Mahaska 77-44 to open the Class 1A quarterfinals and now sit just two victories from a record-tying fourth consecutive state championship.
They did it the usual way – with swarming defense that produced fastbreak layups and points in bunches. Newell-Fonda came up with 29 steals in this one and forced 40 turnovers in all.
The Mustangs (24-1) weren’t perfect. They had 23 turnovers themselves. But they shot 53 percent in the second and 50.8 percent for the game and amassed 46 points off turnovers. All 15 players saw action for coach Dick Jungers and 11 scored.
Macy Sievers, the lone senior who starts for the Mustangs, led with 16 points on 8-for-12 shooting – mostly layups after steals. She also grabbed four rebounds, handed out three assists and made six steals.
Sophomore Kierra Jungers, the coach’s daughter, had 15 points, five rebounds, five blocks and five steals and Mary Walker scored 11. Freshman Kinzee Hinders came off the bench to get nine points, three rebounds and four steals.
Sophomore Isabel Bartek was the only starter who didn’t score, but she contributed five assists, four rebounds and four steals. Ten Newell-Fonda players recorded at least one steal.
North Mahaska (23-2) did a decent job converting when it got through the pressure but just did not get enough opportunities. Addie Schilling led the Warhawks (23-2) with 14 points, while Layla Hargis had 13 points and eight rebounds.
This was the fourth state tournament trip for North Mahaska, which won the 1A title in 2012. The Warhawks’ only other loss was to Schuyler County, Mo., in the season opener.
Newell-Fonda, which also won the 2015 state championship, is now 240-24 over the last 10 years, including 130-3 in the last five. The Mustangs are 28-12 in state tournament games, with those 28 wins ranking fourth among Iowa schools, behind Ankeny (47), Mediapolis (31) and Dowling Catholic (30).
Ankeny is the only school with four consecutive state titles.
North Mahaska survived a flurry of early turnovers to trail just 10-6 at the 3:35 mark in the first quarter. Three minutes later, it was 26-6 as the Newell-Fonda pressure kicked in and the Mustangs started to make shots. The lead was never below 12 after that.