Class 3A girls basketball regional finals full of area state-title hopefuls

The class most likely to be bountiful for an area girls basketball team in March?

That’s easy. It’s Class 3A.

Three area teams — defending state champion Mount Vernon, Maquoketa and Williamsburg — reside in the top five of the final 3A state rankings. All reached the state tournament last year, and all are favored to advance.

Favored is one thing. Finishing the deal is another.

“We’d better come ready to play,” Mount Vernon Coach Jacob Misener said. “Mid-Prairie is going to come after us. They’re like a bunch of Energizer bunnies. They play with extreme intensity, and they’re not going to back down from us.”

Four 3A regional finals contain area teams.

Top-ranked Mount Vernon (21-2) welcomes No. 12 Mid-Prairie (18-5), No. 2 Maquoketa (20-4) hosts No. 15 Davenport Assumption (14-8), No. 5 Williamsburg (19-5) faces No. 11 Tipton (21-2) at home, and No. 14 Center Point-Urbana (15-8) plays at No. 4 Dubuque Wahlert (17-5) for the second straight year.

All games tip at 7 p.m. Friday.

Also Friday are regional semifinals in 5A and 4A. All of the Metro and Iowa City big-school teams are still alive.

Mount Vernon carries a 19-game winning streak after a 2-2 start. The Mustangs are led by senior twins Taylor and Courtney Franck and sophomore Savanna Wright.

“The girls are veterans and accustomed to long seasons and have been good about resisting the lulls that go with it,” Misener said. “Their intensity has been razor-sharp.”

Saturday’s Class 3A regional finals

(All games, 7 p.m.)

No. 12 MID-PRAIRIE (18-5) at No. 1 MOUNT VERNON (21-2)

Last year’s 3A state champion, Mount Vernon is rolling. The Mustangs have won 19 consecutive games, and the last one decided by less than 10 points was before the holiday break. The Mustangs disassembled their first two postseason foes by counts of 75-17 and 73-20. Sophomore Savanna Wright (17.4 ppg) and senior twins Taylor and Courtney Franck started on last year’s title team. Mid-Prairie has a healthy streak of its own: 11 consecutive victories. If the Golden Hawks can avenge a 59-46 loss to Mount Vernon (Dec. 8), they will advance to state for the first time since 2016. Junior Morgyn Bender averages 13.7 points per game.

No. 15 DAVENPORT ASSUMPTION (14-8) at No. 2 MAQUOKETA (20-4)

Maquoketa made its state-tournament debut in 2025, reaching the Class 4A quarterfinals. The Cardinals are down a class and return their top six players from that team, led by 1,000-point scorers Cora Widel (divisional player of the year, 15.5 ppg) and Aubrey Kroymann (12.6 ppg, .515 FG%). Maquoketa ran through the River Valley Conference North Division at 14-0, and challenged itself with a potent non-conference schedule. Assumption advanced with a pair of postseason wins over RVC North opponents and is led by junior Anna Timmons (12.5 ppg).

No. 14 CENTER POINT-URBANA (15-8) at No. 4 DUBUQUE WAHLERT (17-5)

This is a regional-final rematch from last year, when Wahlert earned a 48-43 victory to advance to state, and the Golden Eagles eventually were 3A runners-up. CPU has won five straight games, including a 46-40 regional-semifinal victory over Crestwood in which the Stormin’ Pointers ruled the fourth quarter by an 18-4 margin. Junior Grace Estling and sophomore Adelyn Stien are CPU’s primary scoring threats, averaging 13.1 and 11.4 points per game, respectively. Wahlert returned two starters from last year’s second-place team, and is lifted by the addition of freshman Emily Tanny (20.2 ppg), a 6-foot-1 guard.

No. 11 TIPTON (21-2) at No. 5 WILLIAMSBURG (19-5)

Williamsburg has quickly become an established program under Stephanie Dacey. The Raiders won five games in her first season, then jumped to 14-9, then a 24-3 campaign last year that ended in the 3A state semifinals. Six players average between 7.1 points per game and 11.9. Williamsburg trailed after a quarter in its regional semifinal against Roland-Story, but eventually pulled away to a 52-32 victory. Tipton’s River Valley Conference South Division title is the school’s first league crown since 2009, and the Tigers’ most recent state trip was that same year. The Tigers also are a balanced crew, with junior Jordyn Schmidt (11.6) the lone double-digit scorer.

State

No. 13 Algona (20-4) at No. 7 Forest City (21-3)

Carroll Kuemper (17-5) at No. 3 Des Moines Christian (21-3)

No. 8 Mediapolis (23-0) at No. 6 Monroe PCM (22-1)

No. 10 Spirit Lake (17-5) at No. 9 Cherokee (19-3)

Saturday’s Class 5A regional semifinals

(All games 7 p.m.)

Region 2

Linn-Mar (5-17) at No. 3 Waukee Northwest (15-5)

Pleasant Valley (14-7) at No. 15 Bettendorf (15-6)

Region 3

Marshalltown (14-9) at No. 2 West Des Moines Dowling (18-3)

Waukee (7-14) at No. 14 Cedar Rapids Kennedy (11-10)

Region 6

Dubuque Senior (5-17) at No. 5 Cedar Rapids Washington (16-4)

Waterloo West (11-11) at No. 13 Cedar Rapids Prairie (11-10)

Region 7

Southeast Polk (4-18) at No. 9 West Des Moines Valley (11-10)

Ames (11-10) at No. 10 Iowa City High (16-6)

Region 8

Muscatine (4-18) at No. 7 Iowa City West (15-7)

Cedar Rapids Jefferson (8-13) at No. 8 Iowa City Liberty (14-7)

Saturday’s Class 4A regional semifinals

(All games 7 p.m.)

Region 3

Lewis Central (9-13) at No. 3 Norwalk (19-2)

Waterloo East (13-10) at No. 14 Independence (15-7)

Region 4

Oskaloosa (5-17) at No. 4 Clear Creek Amana (18-2)

North Scott (14-9) at No. 15 Clinton (14-8)

Region 6

Keokuk (15-7) at No. 6 Central DeWitt (21-1)

Marion (8-14) at No. 11 Solon (14-7)

Region 7

Decorah (15-7) at No. 7 Waverly-Shell Rock (20-1)

Gilbert (12-11) at No. 9 Cedar Rapids Xavier (11-9)

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com