A dramatic comeback put Newell-Fonda back into the Class 1A state championship game. And it came at the expense of the team that beat the Mustangs in last year's finals.

Seventh-ranked Newell-Fonda fell behind 15-2 just 7 minutes into the game, then rallied to stun top-ranked Burlington Notre Dame 63-56 in a semifinal matchup that concluded Day Three of the 2015 tournament.

  Newell-Fonda (22-4) kept its composure after the Nikes' early burst and steadily worked its way back. In the middle of the third quarter, with Notre Dame ahead 34-32, Brianna Wells hit a 3-pointer to start 7-0 run that put the Mustangs up 39-34. They stayed on top the rest of the way and will play for the state title at 6 o'clock Friday night.

   Wells led all scorers with 19 points and teammate Erin Gerke scored 18. Gerke also grabbed 11 rebounds, handed out three assists, blocked a shot and made a steal. Wells had six steals and the Mustangs totaled 12 as a team in forcing 22 Notre Dame turnovers.

   Newell-Fonda lost to Notre Dame 57-55 in last year's title game and returned only one starter from that team. But coach Dick Jungers always finds a way to put together a solid team and he's done it again.

   Riley Kilbride led Notre Dame (24-2) with 17 points and Taylor Hickey scored 12 to go with seven assists. The Nikes' only other loss was to Mediapolis, the top-ranked team in Class 3A and a state tournament semifinalist.

Notre Dame managed to cut the lead to 54-53 on Kilbride's 3-pointer with 3:17 left. But the Nikes missed some free throws, turned it over a couple of times and didn't score again until Morgan Magnussen hit a 3 with 4 seconds remaining. By then, Newell-Fonda had a 10-point lead and was just about ready to celebrate its upset.

Newell-Fonda is in the finals for the sixth time and looking for its first championship.