Another season, another state final for Mustangs

DES MOINES -- This was the equivalent of the four-legged horse pulling away from the three-legged horse in the final furlong.

Second-ranked Mount Vernon adjusted defenses to slow Jen Keitel, then eased away from No. 6 DeWitt Central, 41-29, in a Class 3A semifinal at the girls' state basketball tournament Thursday night at Wells Fargo Arena.

"I'm excited; we're all excited," said Taylor Dicus, who posted 12 points and 11 rebounds as the Mustangs (24-2) advanced to meet No. 4 Davenport Assumption for the championship Saturday at 6 p.m. "I'm excited we get a chance to do this in 3A."

Assumption (24-2) upended No. 1 Ballard, 56-42, Thursday.

Mount Vernon was the 2A champion last year and hasn't missed a beat since the boost up a class.

The Mustangs claimed the rubber match against their archrivals from the Wamac Conference East Division. In the regular season, Mount Vernon won at home, then Central did likewise.

In the most important game yet, the Sabers (24-3) were without one of their two Division-I players; Wisconsin signee Lindsay Smith tore the ACL in her left knee in Tuesday's quarterfinal win over MOC-Floyd Valley.

"Nobody was going to feel sorry for us, so we couldn't feel sorry for ourselves," said Central Coach Mark Kurtz. "But with Lindsay out, it makes offense a little more challenging for us."

Still, the Sabers stuck around for three quarters before the Mustangs galloped away. An eight-point surge gave Mount Vernon the separation it needed.

With the Mustangs up 27-23, Dicus converted an offensive rebound into a three-point play. Amanda Platte added a free throw, then added another putback. When Dicus scored from the top of the key, Mount Vernon led 35-23 with 3:25 to go, and it was clear sailing from there.

The momentum began to shift Mount Vernon's way after Mustangs Coach Bob Kintzel changed defenses at halftime, going to a zone to slow Keitel, a UNI recruit.

"When they set down-screens against our man-to-man, our guards weren't in the proper position. We decided to plug the middle and take away the shots from inside," Kintzel said.

Keitel led all scorers with 13 points, just two in the second half. She made 6 of 9 shots from the floor; her teammates were 5 of 26.

"Coach wanted us to play tight on all of their players and respect everyone," said Amanda Platte, who combines with Dicus and Courtney Kintzel to give Mount Vernon a front line that stands 6-2, 6-2 and 6-1.

Micah Wieditz tallied 12 to match Dicus. She had a pair of key 3-pointers in the second half to keep Central at bay before the decisive surge came in the fourth quarter.

Platte added 11 points.

Saturday, the Mustangs have an opportunity to win their sixth championship in a major girls' sport in 22 months. They captured track titles in 2009 and 2010, volleyball crowns in 2009 and 2010 and last year's basketball championship.

"This core group was been here before," Coach Kintzel said.

Over and over and over again.

AT DES MOINES

DE WITT CENTRAL (29): Meghan McClimon 2-7 0-0 4, Rachel Henning 0-2 0-0 0, Niki Green 1-9 4-6 6, Alex Hunter 2-7 0-0 6, Jen Keitel 6-9 0-0 13, Sara McAleer 0-1 0-0 0, Gretchen Henningsen 0-0 0-0 0, Brianna Kueter 0-0 0-0 0, Auburn Templeton 0-0 0-0 0, Lynn Dohrmann 0-0 0-0 0, Kassie Prier 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 11-35 4-6 29.

MOUNT VERNON (41): Liz Skotowski 1-8 0-0 2, Taylor Dicus 4-6 4-5 12, Courtney Kintzel 0-1 0-1 0, Micah Wieditz 4-14 2-2 12, Amanda Platte 4-8 3-4 11, Miranda Chapman 0-0 0-0 0, Kylea Weber 1-2 0-0 2, Sarah Ryan 0-1 0-0 0, Macy Rice 0-0 0-0 0, Emma Pisarik 0-0 0-0 0, Hanna Giegerich 1-1 0-0 2, Hannah Wieditz 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-41 9-12 41.

Halftime: Mount Vernon 17, Central 15.

3-point goals: Central 3-11 (Green 0-2, Hunter 2-6, Keitel 1-3), Mount Vernon 2-12 (Skotowski 0-4, Wieditz 2-7, Weber 0-1).

Team fouls: Central 14, Mount Vernon 11.

Fouled out: none.

Rebounds: Central 21 (Keitel 6), Mount Vernon 29 (Dicus 11).

Assists: Central 7 (Green, Keitel 2), Mount Vernon 5 (Kintzel 3).

Steals: Central 3 (McClimon 2), Mount Vernon 5 (Kintzel 3).

Turnovers: Central 11, Mount Vernon 8.