A State Tournament bid is on the line Saturday night in Mount Vernon when the Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk girls basketball team meets the home Mustangs in a Class 3A Regional Final.
The Golden Hawk girls come into the game with an 18-5 overall record, finishing 12-2, second in the River Valley Conference. The Hawks have won 11-in-a-row overall including a 46-35 Regional Semifinal victory Wednesday night in Wellman over Pella Christian. Mid-Prairie is ranked No. 12 in Class 3A in the final poll of the year from the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union. This year the Hawks score 57 points per game and give up 41 on 39% shooting, 30% from three and 58% at the line with 35 rebounds, 16 assists, 16 steals and 17 turnovers per game. Individually, Morgyn Bender is the leading scorer with 14 points per night, Jovi Evans has five rebounds, Katelyn Harland three assists and Jeorgia Evans three steals.
Mount Vernon is 21-2 this season, undefeated WAMAC Champs. They have won 19 games-in-a-row, including 73-20 in Wednesday’s Regional Semifinal round over Dike New Hartford. The Mustangs are ranked No. 1 in Class 3A in the final poll of the year from the IGHSAU. Statistically, they average 55 points per game and give up 36 on 41% shooting, 37% from three and 57% at the line with 30 rebounds, 14 assists, 11 steals and 10 turnovers per game. Individually, Savanna Wright leads at 17 points per night. Courtney Franck has nine boards, six assists and four steals per game. Golden Hawk head coach Jenny Hobbs spoke on Wednesday’s postgame show about the keys against the Mustangs. “We have to play more loose. Mount Vernon is the number one team in the state and they are just on fire. They’re very, very good. What do we have to lose? They’re the number one team. They’re the defending state champs. So they have the pressure on them Saturday. We can go and have fun. Their guards are special. They have two that will be All-State. It’s good to be familiar. We’ve played Mount Vernon. We’ve played at Mount Vernon. It was a great game there. Having confidence going in. I love the underdog. I have always been the underdog myself. You’re not an underdog if you don’t think you’re the underdog. So, we’re going to go in there thinking we’re pretty damn special and we’re going to see what happens.”
This is the 71st all-time meeting between the two schools. Mid-Prairie holds a 36-34 series advantage. These two met in December of this year with Mount Vernon taking a 59-46 win. The Golden Hawks last win over Mount Vernon came in 2019. Each team has been to State seven times in their history. The Mustangs were there last year where they won it all. The Golden Hawks are trying to get back for the first time since 2016. You can hear all of the action live tonight on AM 1380, FM 102.5, the KCII2 App and KCIIradio.com, beginning with the Golden Hawk Playoff Pregame Show at 6:30p.m. And tip at seven live from Mount Vernon High School.