Dicus perfect, Mustangs brilliant in rout

ANAMOSA -- If the Mount Vernon Mustangs have one more gear, pity the opposition.Taylor Dicus was perfect from the floor and perfect from the line, and Class 3A second-ranked Mount Vernon shot a blinding 74 percent from the field in the second half of a 68-26 Wamac Conference East Division girls' basketball demolition of Anamosa Tuesday night at Anamosa High School."Every game, we have to give it our all, because -- as Coach (Bob Kintzel) says -- we're everybody's Super Bowl," said Dicus, who made all six of her shots and all five of her free throws in a wildly efficient 17-point outing.Last year's Class 2A state champion, the Mustangs made 11 of 14 shots from the floor in the third quarter, 17 of 23 in the second half. They finished the game at 59 percent (29 of 49) in improving to 10-1 overall, 7-0 in the division.The starting front court of Dicus, Amanda Platte and Courtney Kintzel combined to make 12 of 13 shots.Ten Mustangs scored. Micah Wieditz added 12 points; freshman Miranda Chapman tallied 10."I told everybody to step up and shoot the thing," Coach Kintzel said. "It was nice to see so many people step up and pick up the scoring.Anamosa (6-6, 3-4) is a respectable ball club, but the Mustangs were far superior Tuesday. They led 14-6 after one quarter, 31-12 at halftime, then sizzled after intermission.Dicus got untracked immediately, hitting a couple of baseline shots. Then she worked her way inside and was the beneficiary of some nice entry passes."I've been working on my post moves and trying to get in that rhythm," said Dicus, a first-team all-stater and all-state tournament selection in 2010 who will play at Cornell College next year. "Hopefully we can continue to get better. I know we can keep improving."If so, the Mustangs can start reserving hotels in Des Moines for the first week in March.Tristan Camp and Lauren Buck led Anamosa with seven points apiece.The Raiders host the other divisional giant, No. 3 DeWitt Central, on Friday. Mount Vernon entertains Western Dubuque.

MOUNT VERNON (68): Sarah Ryan 1-5 0-0 2, Liz Skotowski 3-5 0-0 7, Taylor Dicus 6-6 5-5 17, Courtney Kintzel 2-2 1-1 5, Amanda Platte 4-5 0-0 8, Micah Wieditz 5-7 0-0 12, Kylea Weber 0-5 0-0 0, Miranda Chapman 5-9 0-0 10, Emma Pisarik 1-2 0-1 2, Hanna Giegerich 2-3 0-0 4, Macy Rice 0-0 1-2 1, Hannah Wieditz 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-49 7-9 68.

ANAMOSA (26): Kellie Vaughn 0-9 0-0 0, Tristan Camp 3-7 1-2 7, Lauren Buck 2-9 2-2 7, Kayla Zumbach 3-4 0-0 6, Nicole Sanborn 1-6 0-0 2, Abi Tuetken 0-2 0-0 0, Lindsey Bildstein 0-2 0-0 0, Jessica Nissen 1-1 2-4 4, Kendra Whitman 0-0 0-0 0, Cassidy Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Kate Johnson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 10-40 5-8 26.

Halftime: Mount Vernon 31, Anamosa 12.

3-point goals: Mount Vernon 3-7 (Skotowski 1-3, M.Wieditz 2-4), Anamosa 1-16 (Vaughn 0-6, Buck 1-6, Sanborn 0-1, Tuetken 0-2, Bildstein 0-1). 

Team fouls: Mount Vernon 11, Anamosa 10.

Fouled out: None.

Rebounds: Mount Vernon 30 (Dicus 6), Anamosa 24 (Camp 5).

Assists: Mount Vernon 15 (Ryan 4), Anamosa 5 (five with 1).

Steals: Mount Vernon 15 (Skotowski 3), Anamosa 5 (Zumbach 2).

Turnovers: Mount Vernon 12, Anamosa 23.