Mount Vernon returns to girls' state basketball

MARION — Compared to last year, this was a snoozer.

And the Mount Vernon Mustangs weren't complaining a bit.

Mount Vernon hit 10 of 19 shots from 3-point range and handled Solon in relatively stress-free fashion, 61-50, in a Class 3A girls' basketball regional final Saturday night at Marion High School.

'It's still exciting,' said junior guard Libby Ryan, who will mark her eighth state-level appearance when the Mustangs (16-9) face No. 1 Pocahontas Area (24-0) at 11:45 a.m. Tuesday, March 1 at the Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines. 'Maybe there wasn't the level of drama this year, but it's still nice.'

The Mustangs will play at state for the fourth time in seven years.

Unlike last year's regional final, in which the Mustangs rallied from 18 points down to defeat Center Point-Urbana, they got in front in the second quarter and were frontrunners the rest of the way.

Credit the outside shooting.

'We knew Kaitlyn (Volesky) was going to get double- and triple-teamed, so we knew we would have to hit some 3-pointers,' said Ryan, who was 4 of 5 from deep and led the Mustangs with 14 points.

Volesky said, 'They were crashing down on me, so we had to depend on our outside shooters. They came through.'

The Mustangs continued their recent dominance in the Highway 1 rivalry, defeating the Spartans for the 14th straight time. Solon's last win against Mount Vernon came in 2009.

Coach Dennis Roloff will be making his seventh state appearance — five with Cedar Rapids Kennedy, two with Mount Vernon.

'We had some kids step up,' Roloff said. 'You've got to count on somebody to come through, and (Catherine) Yeoman hit three really big 3-pointers to give us a little cushion.'

Yeoman's first trey gave the Mustangs a 15-14 lead at the end of the first quarter. Her next two came in back-to-back fashion and gave Mount Vernon some space at 24-16.

It was 26-18 at halftime, and the Spartans (14-10) came no closer in the second half. Mount Vernon scored the first seven points after intermission.

Volesky added 12 points and nine rebounds for the Mustangs, Yeoman tacked on 10 points, Kristen Elliott nine, Jacque Murray eight.

Sydney Lawson and Nichole Oberthien led the Spartans with 14 points apiece. Oberthien grabbed nine rebounds. Josie Durr scored 11 points.

MOUNT VERNON 61, SOLON 50

At Marion

MOUNT VERNON (61): Hayley Corkin 0-1 0-1 0, Libby Ryan 4-8 2-2 14, Jacque Murray 1-9 6-6 8, Kristen Elliott 3-8 2-4 9, Kaitlyn Volesky 5-9 2-4 12, Annie See 1-1 0-0 3, Catherine Yeoman 3-4 1-2 10, Riley Clark 1-2 0-0 3, Ella Norton 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 19-43 13-19 61.

SOLON (50): Nichole Oberthien 5-11 2-2 14, Dakota Doyle 1-7 0-0 2, Hannah Bluder 1-5 3-5 5, Sydney Lawson 7-15 0-0 14, Josie Durr 4-6 1-2 11, Alli Prybil 0-2 0-0 0, Bryce Hinkel 0-3 0-0 0, Taylor Ryan 1-2 0-0 2, Brianna Smith 1-7 0-0 2, Kristina Shelman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-58 6-9 50.

Halftime: Mount Vernon 26, Solon 18. 3-point goals: Mount Vernon 10-19 (Corkin 0-1, Ryan 4-5, Murray 0-4, Elliott 1-4, See 1-1, Yeoman 3-3, Clark 1-1), Solon 4-17 (Oberthien 2-3, Doyle 0-3, Bluder 0-3, Lawson 0-1, Durr 2-2, Prybil 0-2, Smith 0-3). Team fouls: Mount Vernon 10, Solon 17. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Mount Vernon 34 (Volesky 9), Solon 33 (Oberthien 9). Assists: Mount Vernon 15 (Murray, Volesky 4), Solon 4 (four with 1). Steals: Mount Vernon 7 (Corkin 3), Solon 8 (Lawson 3). Turnovers: Mount Vernon 12, Solon 13.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com