Return From Des Moines

#5 posting 3.8.2006

I'm back from Des Moines. I had a great time watching the girls tournament there. It was unfortunate that I couldn't see it all, but I have obligations here that need attending.

I'll give you the synopsis on the Iowa Tournament along with what I witnessed in the 5AAA tournament.
Iowa State 4A Quarters. You might call the 4A tournament the Cedar Rapids Invite as only Des Moines Roosevelt crashes the all CR foursome. You might also call it the upset special as the final 4A rankings had three of the top seeds go down. #4 Linn-Mar, #1 Dowling Catholic, and #2 Sioux City North all saw their seasons end in the quarterfinals. The only survior of the upset bug was CR Prarie.
In games I saw this morning DM Roosevelt upset Linn-Mar (a school by Cedar Rapids) 57-35 as Charmaine Bell and MyKenya Johnson combined for 42 points. If that was an upset, the next game produced a shocker as Cedar Rapids Jefferson survived the furious rally by Dowling Catholic 57-55.
In the games I missed CR Prairie dashed Johnston 47-33, and CR Washington outscored Sioux City North 75-69. Prairie and Washington will face each other on Friday afternoon and Roosevelt takes on Jefferson in the early game.

In the 1A semifinals IKM beat Twin River Valley 44-25. Margo Muhlbauer led IKM with 18. Charter Oak-Ute, the defending state champ, fell to Treynor 72-57. A 24-12 second quarter provided the momentum for Treynor. Tricia Trotter had 25 points for Treynor as she hit 4 3s on the night.

I drove back in the foggy, gloomy rain and made it to the 5AAA semis. The first game was down to the wire with Waconia beating Orono 49-44. In the late game two streaks came to an end. Minneapolis North's nine year section run is history as Benilde-St. Margaret's trounced the Polars 72-48. This marked the first time Benilde advanced past the semis in two years of being the higher seed.

Next up: DM Roosevelt vs Linn-Mar then the rest.