Mount Vernon’s latest step in its 3-year girls’ basketball ascent: No. 1 ranking in Class 3A

Three years ago: One win.

And now: No. 1.

Mount Vernon climbed to the top spot in the Class 3A girls’ basketball rankings Thursday, two days after knocking off previous-No. 1 Solon, 44-37.

“It was a fun game for us,” Mustangs Coach Nate Sanderson said.

It didn’t start out that way.

Mount Vernon (12-1 overall, 3-0 Wamac Conference East Division) fell behind, 12-2, after a quarter before stabilizing.

“We fell in the same hole to them in the regional finals last year,” Sanderson said. “It was nice to be able to find a way out this time.

“We hadn’t practiced in over a week. Our defense kept us in the game until we got our feet under us.”

Mount Vernon took control with a 14-0 run in the third quarter, and Sydney Huber hit a pair of free throws — her only points of the game — to ice it with 20 seconds left.

Chloe Meester and Courtney Franck scored 12 points apiece, helping the Mustangs solve Solon (11-2, 2-1) for the first time since 2019, despite 23 points from University of Iowa signee Callie Levin.

The rematch is Feb. 2 at Mount Vernon. Before that, the Mustangs face challenges against Marion (twice, including a home game Saturday) and North Linn (away, next Thursday).

“We’re going through the wringer right now,” Sanderson said. “There are no gimmes left on our schedule.”

A two-time state-champion coach at Springville (2016 and 2017), Sanderson is in his third year at Mount Vernon.

In the season before his arrival, the Mustangs were 1-20. Then came 12-11, then 16-8 (and that regional-final loss to Solon).

And now this.

“The progress has been kind of mind-blowing,” Sanderson said. “We haven’t arrived to where we want to be yet. But much credit to the kids for helping to get us where we are.”

Meester and Huber, a pair of juniors, are averaging 14.8 and 13.3 points per game, respectively. Senior Peyton Simpson is at 10.4 ppg, and sophomore Franck is dishing 4.1 assists to every turnover.

First game back, at last

Iowa City Liberty’s first contest in 25 days was a winner, 48-42 over Linn-Mar on Tuesday at North Liberty.

The Lightning (4-6 overall, 2-3 MVC) had not played since Dec. 22. They had weathered four consecutive weather-forced postponements.

Sophomore Natalie Ramsey and Madeline Casey paced the Bolts with 14 points apiece.

1,000 points for Libby Fandel

Cedar Rapids Xavier junior Libby Fandel crossed the 1,000-career-point threshold in the Saints’ win over Waterloo West on Tuesday.

A two-time Class 4A first-team all-stater and a key member of Xavier’s state-championship team in 2022, Fandel tallied 22 Tuesday, raising her career total to 1,016.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com