SUMNER — No. 3 (5A) Mason City literally took Dubuque Senior’s best shot.
At times, it left Mohawk players flat on their back. But thanks to a dominant fourth quarter, Mason City was left standing. And after topping Senior 67-52 on Tuesday night, it’s destination Des Moines for the third straight year.
“Three-peat,” senior Jadda Buckley beamed. “It’s amazing.”
As the clock struck zero, Mohawk players extended three fingers in the air, signifying that sought-after and almost expected third consecutive trip to Wells Fargo Arena.
Moments later, a wave of Mohawk fans joined in the celebration. It was capped off by an impromptu photo shoot on the Sumner-Fredericksburg gym floor.
Part 1 of Mason City’s plan has been executed.
Mason City (20-3), the No. 2 seed, plays seventh-seeded Iowa City West (18-5) next Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena.
“We have goals,” said senior Cortni Rush, who recorded a double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds. “This game is a part of that goal.”
A pesky Dubuque Senior team was up to the challenge of playing spoiler. The Rams (12-11) led by nine in the first half and entered the break with a five-point advantage.
What the Rams wanted to do offensively, especially in a 22-point outburst in the opening eight minutes, they did.
“We were letting them do whatever they wanted,” Mason City coach Curt Klaahsen said. “They were doing everything they wanted to do. I thought we made much more of an effort in the second half.”
Rush was the glue that held things together in the first half with Buckley and fellow starter Makenzie Meyer stuck in foul trouble. She scored 12 of her 19, including a pair of 3-pointers, in the first half.
“They came out and they didn’t have anything to lose,” Rush said. “We didn’t come out with our tempo and how we play.”
That was a necessity in the second half.
The final 16 minutes began with a flurry, as Buckley, who scored a game-high 22 points, began knifing her way to the basket.
That continued until the game was out of reach as she shot 14 free throws, connecting on 11 of those.
Mason City finished 21 of 26 from the line.
“We came out like it was zero-zero,” Buckley said. “That’s what we needed.”
The 17-4 fourth-quarter run featured a key 3-pointer from Myah Mellman and a run-out layup from Meyer on a nifty pass from Buckley. The other 12 points in the final frame came from the free-throw line.
It wasn’t all roses down the stretch for Mason City, however.
With Mason City’s lead in double figures in the waning minutes, Buckley was standing beyond the 3-point arc when she was the recipient of a two-hand shove despite not having the ball. She went flying. The partisan Mohawk crowd was whipped into a frenzy.
“It got a little dirty there at the end, obviously,” Buckley said. “But we can’t get caught up in that. We had to do things our way, the Mohawk way, and I believe we did that.”
Calm, cool and collected, Buckley drained the two free throws.
There wasn’t much that was going to cast a cloud over this night as Mason City is state-bound yet again.
“You’ve just got to give big credit to our seniors,” Klaahsen said.
Mason City 67, Dubuque Senior 52
Mason City 16 13 21 17 — 67
Dubuque Senior 22 12 14 4 — 52
MASON CITY — Morgan Vorba 1-2 1-2 3, Jadda Buckley 5-10 11-14 22, Makenzie Meyer 2-6 3-4 8, Myah Mellman 3-8 2-2 11, Cortni Rush 6-10 4-4 19, Allison Scott 0-2 0-0 0, Lexy Pederson 2-3 0-0 4, Nicolle Hewett 0-0 0-0 0. Totals — 19-41 21-26 67.
3-point goals — Buckley 1, Meyer 1, Mellman 3, Rush 3.
DUBUQUE SENIOR — Kristie Sommer 2-12 2-2 7, Katie Sommer 3-10 4-5 12, Emma Noel 2-4 2-3 6, Affrica Kimble 3-5 0-1 7, Makenzie Williams 3-7 1-4 7, Nakiah Kimble 1-1 0-0 2, Savannah Frye 5-7 0-0 11. Totals — 19-46 9-15 52.
3-point goals — Kr. Summer 1, Ka. Summer 1, Af. Kimble 1, Frye 1.
Technical foul — Mason City bench.
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