No sweat: No. 1 City High rolls on

IOWA CITY -- Haley Lorenzen exited the game, leaned down and hugged each of her coaches before finding a comfortable seat on the bench."I just wanted to thank them all for pushing me so hard," she said.

Lorenzen registered 25 points and eight rebounds, and Courtney Joens added 23 points as top-ranked Iowa City High breezed past Pleasant Valley, 75-47, in a Class 5A girls' basketball regional final Tuesday night at West High School.

The Little Hawks (23-0) built a 20-point lead in the first half, eased off the gas for a while, then pushed forward in triggering the continuous clock.

City High advances to the state tournament next week at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. The Little Hawks will face Mississippi Valley Conference rival Cedar Rapids Kennedy (16-7) in a state quarterfinal at 5 p.m. next Wednesday in the quarterfinals.Kennedy outlasted Muscatine, 54-52, Tuesday.

"The goal isn't to get to state," said Lorenzen, a prime candidate for Miss Iowa Basketball 2014 and a University of Florida recruit. "The goal is to win it."

As has been the case all season, the Little Hawks looked every bit like a championship contender. After the Spartans (15-8) scored the game's first basket, City High answered with the next 10 points and enjoyed a 23-7 lead by the end of the first quarter.

"We just came out ready to go," Joens said. "We got the shot we liked inside, and we played aggressive and hard from the beginning."

The Little Hawks had a lackadaisical midgame spell, and the Spartans crept within 38-25 early in the third quarter.But City High scored the next eight points to extend the margin to 21, and stung Pleasant Valley with a 14-2 run to start the fourth period.Lorenzen made 11 of 16 shots from inside; Joens hit 4 of 5 from 3-point range.Kenya Earl added 13 points for the Little Hawks. Kiera Washpun posted seven points, nine assists and four steals. City High shot 65 percent from the field, making 26 of 40 shots.Jenae Bishop led Pleasant Valley with 12 points.

IOWA CITY HIGH 75, PLEASANT VALLEY 47

Class 5A Regional Final, at Iowa City West

IOWA CITY HIGH (75): Sara Blowers 0-1 0-0 0, Kiera Washpun 2-4 3-5 7, Sam Blowers 0-1 0-0 0, Courtney Joens 8-11 3-5 23, Haley Lorenzen 11-16 3-4 25, Sarah Plock 0-1 4-4 4, Kenya Earl 4-4 4-6 13, Peyton Koenig 0-0 0-0 0, Lillie Christophersen 0-0 0-0 0, Ronetta Jenkins 0-0 0-0 0, Emma Pradarelli 0-1 0-0 0, Veniz Xayasene 0-0 0-0 0, Loshika Embery 0-0 0-0 0, Bryn Hanrahan 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 26-40 17-24 75.

PLEASANT VALLEY (47): Maddie Reynolds 0-2 5-7 5, Carly Donahue 0-1 3-4 3, Abby Elceser 3-7 4-5 11, Sydney Dwyer 1-12 2-2 5, Jenae Bishop 4-8 4-4 12, Lana Lindstrom 2-5 2-5 6, Erin Moser 0-1 0-0 0, Emily Paul 0-0 0-0 0, Miranda Price 0-2 0-0 0, Taylor Hester 2-2 0-0 5, Allie Carter 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 12-40 20-27 47.Halftime: City High 34, PV 18. 3-point goals: City High 6-8 (Sara Blowers 0-1, Joens 4-5, Earl 1-1, Hanrahan 1-1), PV 3-15 (Reynolds 0-1, Elceser 1-2, Dwyer 1-9, Lindstrom 0-1, Moser 0-1, Hester 1-1). Team fouls: City High 20, PV 17. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: City High 23 (Lorenzen 8), PV 27 (Lindstrom 8). Assists: City High 19 (Washpun 9), PV 5 (Dwyer 2). Steals: City High 16 (Plock 5), PV 12 (Donahue, Elceser 3). Turnovers: City High 16, PV 24.